James Harden has agreed to a 4-year, $118M contract renegotiation

[BudweiserCeltic]

Adrian Wojnarowski ‏@WojVerticalNBA
Sources on @TheVertical: All-Star James Harden has agreed to a 4-year,  $118M contract renegotiation that takes him through 2020 in Houston.

Adrian Wojnarowski ‏@WojVerticalNBA
The deal allows Harden to get raises on his 2016-'17 and 2017-'18 contracts using Rockets cap space -- plus two additional year at max rate.

Adrian Wojnarowski ‏@WojVerticalNBA
Sources: Over the next four years, Harden will now earn: $26.5M, $28.3M, $30.4M and a player option for $32.7M in 2019-'20.

As a salary cap enthusiast, I can't express how interesting a move this is. Time to digest it.

[A Future of Stevens]

I mean, I'm not as huge of a cap expert as the next guy, but as maxes were handed out this summer this has to be seen as a good value for the rockets no?

[loco_91]

Coup for Houston. Harden must really believe in their long term plan.

[BudweiserCeltic]

I mean, I'm not as huge of a cap expert as the next guy, but as maxes were handed out this summer this has to be seen as a good value for the rockets no?

Harden was signed through next year at a much lower salary. So that's part of what makes this interesting.

[chiken Green]

I  Kind of feel bad for Houston for having a James Harden problem..  No real chance of  winning  anything other than a scoring stat..  I wonder how many real stars would want to play with him..  bad situation for a franchise.

[kozlodoev]

I didn't realize renegotiations were allowed under the CBA. Is that a new thing?

[fairweatherfan]

So the Rockets basically traded about $20 million in raises over the next 2 seasons for a 1 season extension and a player option.  It's nice to lock Harden down for longer, and if they weren't using that cap space it makes sense to put it there, but that's a hefty price to pay for an extra year.

[fairweatherfan]

I didn't realize renegotiations were allowed under the CBA. Is that a new thing?

I don't think so, but the big rub is that you cannot renegotiate to the player taking less money. 

[BudweiserCeltic]

I didn't realize renegotiations were allowed under the CBA. Is that a new thing?

Only after X amount of years into a contract, and you have to use cap room to do it. Other limitations are there. But that's the gist of what you're asking.

[saltlover]

I didn't realize renegotiations were allowed under the CBA. Is that a new thing?

It has to occur three years after the original contract was signed.  If we have the cap room, I have been a strong advocate of extended IT in this fashion next summer.

[BudweiserCeltic]

I didn't realize renegotiations were allowed under the CBA. Is that a new thing?

It has to occur three years after the original contract was signed.  If we have the cap room, I have been a strong advocate of extended IT in this fashion next summer.

Next Summer is the year when cap projections will at their highest in the coming 2-3 years. Not sure if that's when you'd want to do that extension, but something worth considering of course if we miss out on our FA & trade targets.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

I  Kind of feel bad for Houston for having a James Harden problem..  No real chance of  winning  anything other than a scoring stat..  I wonder how many real stars would want to play with him..  bad situation for a franchise.

Ditto. He's clearly a gifted scorer, but he does nothing else well. I see him as a net negative, and not a fit for any team with title hopes.

[saltlover]

I didn't realize renegotiations were allowed under the CBA. Is that a new thing?

It has to occur three years after the original contract was signed.  If we have the cap room, I have been a strong advocate of extended IT in this fashion next summer.

Next Summer is the year when cap projections will at their highest in the coming 2-3 years. Not sure if that's when you'd want to do that extension, but something worth considering of course if we miss out on our FA & trade targets.

I didn't say I'd give a max extension.  If you gave him a $15 million raise next summer, you could essentially pay him at a lower-than-max rate going forward.  In other words, he'd get a 4-year deal with salaries like this:

2017: $21.2 mil
2018: $22.8 m
2019: $24.4 m
2020: $26.0 m

However, since he's getting $15 mil extra next season that he otherwise wouldn't, it would make it as if those 2018-2020 salaries were each $5 mil higher, and much closer to max level.

It's not my first way to spend cap space, but I think it is a good way to spend if there is no free agent signing.

[RJ87]

I  Kind of feel bad for Houston for having a James Harden problem..  No real chance of  winning  anything other than a scoring stat..  I wonder how many real stars would want to play with him..  bad situation for a franchise.

Ditto. He's clearly a gifted scorer, but he does nothing else well. I see him as a net negative, and not a fit for any team with title hopes.

Really? He's a pretty good rebounding guard and excellent facilitator. He's obviously not the best defender and that's contributed to his reputation, but you can definitely build a winning team around him.

[BudweiserCeltic]

I didn't realize renegotiations were allowed under the CBA. Is that a new thing?

It has to occur three years after the original contract was signed.  If we have the cap room, I have been a strong advocate of extended IT in this fashion next summer.

Next Summer is the year when cap projections will at their highest in the coming 2-3 years. Not sure if that's when you'd want to do that extension, but something worth considering of course if we miss out on our FA & trade targets.

I didn't say I'd give a max extension.  If you gave him a $15 million raise next summer, you could essentially pay him at a lower-than-max rate going forward.  In other words, he'd get a 4-year deal with salaries like this:

2017: $21.2 mil
2018: $22.8 m
2019: $24.4 m
2020: $26.0 m

However, since he's getting $15 mil extra next season that he otherwise wouldn't, it would make it as if those 2018-2020 salaries were each $5 mil higher, and much closer to max level.

It's not my first way to spend cap space, but I think it is a good way to spend if there is no free agent signing.

I could maybe get behind that, I guess we'll analyze the situation better when the time comes and see what opportunities there are.