The Los Angeles Clippers could look very different next season depending on how free agency goes over the next few days. Paul George is obviously the big name everyone is keeping an eye on after he opted out of his deal on Saturday, but another one of the top free agents on the market is James Harden, who is expected to receive considerable interest from the Los Angeles Lakers once free agency officially gets underway.
With LeBron James expected to take a cheaper deal in order to allow the Lakers to build up their roster around him, Harden is one of the top targets they have an eye on. The Lakers could offer Harden a deal that starts at $12.8 million with the non-taxpayer midlevel exception, but the problem is that the Clippers could conceivably offer double what the Lakers can, which is something Adrian Wojnarowski recently noted when it comes to Harden's free agency.
“James Harden could get double that to return to the Clippers.” – Adrian Wojnarowski, SportsCenter
Clippers could up the ante to keep James Harden in town
Harden isn't the player he once was, but he still had a solid season with the Clippers while playing in a complementary role alongside George and Kawhi Leonard (16.6 PPG, 8.5 APG, 4.7 RPG, 42.8 FG%). The Clippers have made it clear they want to try to keep their core group in town despite their unsuccessful 2023-24 campaign, but that may be increasingly difficult to do with George, Harden, and Russell Westbrook all being free agents.
Still, the Clippers have the cap space available to outbid the Lakers in their quest to keep Harden in town. Where Harden wants to play basketball seemingly changes every single day, though, so it's fair to wonder what he wants entering free agency. If he wants the biggest payday, staying with the Clips makes sense, but if he wants yet another change of scenery, moving to the Lakers could be a real option for him.
It may seem like moving to the Lakers wouldn't make much sense for Harden, but he may not see it that way. He didn't seem to always be a perfect fit with the Clippers, and the prospect of playing alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis could be enticing to him, even if it would see him make less money. You never really know what Harden is thinking until he goes out and does what he wants to do.
Regardless of what ends up happening, Harden clearly is generating some interest on the free agent market, and it seems like he will be staying in Los Angeles one way or another. Whether that's with the Clippers or the Lakers remains to be seen, but it looks like his most recent squad has the inside track when it comes to landing his signature this offseason.
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