Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Former NBA Most Valuable Player James Harden has agreed to a new three-year, $97 million contract to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, his agents told ESPN on Thursday.
Harden, who turns 37 on August 26, became a free agent at the end of last season after declining his player option for another year with the Cavs. That decision gave Cleveland more financial flexibility in their bid to sign LeBron James, who ultimately joined the Philadelphia 76ers after eight years with the Los Angeles Lakers.
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Now Harden will be back with the team he joined in February in a trade from the Los Angeles Clippers. Harden’s first post-season with the Cavs ended in a tough elimination by the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals, where Cleveland were swept 4-0.
Harden, who averaged 20.5 points and 7.7 assists in 26 regular-season games, saw his production drop in the playoffs to 19.2 points, with shooting percentages of 41% from the field and 29.9% from three-point range, along with a disastrous average of 4.7 turnovers per game.
Harden, an 11-time All-Star and a three-time NBA scoring champion, was the last US player to win the MVP award, capturing it in 2018.
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