James Harden, Houston Rockets Agree On Four-Year, $118 Million Deal

James Harden and his beard will be staying in Texas for quite sometime. The 26-year-old four-time All-Star agreed to a four-year, $118 million “contract renegotiation” with the Houston Rockets on Saturday. The new deal will give him significant raises over the next two years, followed by two more years at the max contract rate.

Harden has been the alpha dog in Houston since he arrived via trade in 2012. The key for the Rockets will be finally surrounding him with championship-level talent, something they have failed to do so far. This year the Houston finished 41-41 and was the eighth seed in the Western Conference.

During the 2015-16 season, Harden averaged career-highs in points (29.0), rebounds (6.1) and assists (7.5), while posting a PER of 25.36. He is one of the NBA’s best offensive players, but his relationship to the defensive end of the floor would likely be labeled “it’s complicated” on Facebook.

The Rockets finally freed themselves of the anchor that was Dwight Howard this offseason. They added Ryan Anderson, Eric Gordon and Nene, and hope to re-sign Donatas Motiejunas. It’s going to be a different look for Houston under new head coach Mike D'Antoni, but Harden should thrive in his new coach’s up-tempo attack.

With Harden, Gordon and Anderson locked in and the emerging Clint Capela up front, the Rockets could be a fun team to watch. But whether they’ll play enough defense to be a serious contender remains to be seen.