According to Sports Illustrated chris Mannix, harden is expected to reach a five-year, $270 million super-salary contract with the team this summer. Chris Mannix said there's no doubt that the team will give Harden such a big contract, but there are also concerns about whether it will turn into a junk contract. You read that right, $270 million over 5 years!
The $270 million is also the largest contract in NBA history, so let's look at the annual salary: $46.5 million for the 2022-23 season; $50.2 million for the 2023-24 season; $54 million for the 2024-25 season; $57.7 million for the 2025-26 season; and $61.4 million for the 2026-27 season. Harden will turn 38 in the summer of 2027 with an annual salary of 60 million+!
Harden's current contract is $170 million for 4 years, which expires in the summer of 2023, with player options for the 2022-23 season. This summer, Harden could give up the final year's 47.36 million player option, skip a contract to become a free agent, and then sign a five-year contract with the team. I am afraid that many fans have questions: is Deng ge worth this big contract?
Consider how Dengo has performed this season: Before coming to Philadelphia, he played in 44 games for the Nets, averaging 22.5 points, 8 rebounds, 10.2 assists, 1.3 steals, 0.7 blocks, 4.8 turnovers, 41.4% shooting, 33.2% three-point shooting, and 86.9% free throw shooting (6.9 free throws per game).
After coming to Philadelphia, Harden played in 16 games, averaging 22.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, 9.6 assists, 1.4 steals, 0.3 blocks, 3.2 turnovers, shooting 41.3%, shooting 34.3% from three-point range, and shooting 88.6% from the free throw line (averaging 8.8 free throws per game). Compared to his time at the Nets, his three-point shooting percentage and free throw shooting percentage have improved slightly.
Overall, Harden's performance before and after the trade did not differ much, averaging only 0.2 points per game and shooting only 0.1 percent from the field. Harden's shooting percentage this season is the second lowest shooting percentage of his career, only better than in his rookie season, and his three-point shooting rate is a career low. There is no doubt that Harden is not the best of him now.
Take a look at Dengo's performance in the past five games: March 24 vs Lakers, 7 of 18 shooting, 1 of 6 three-pointers for 24 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists; March 26 vs Clippers, 7 of 15 shooting, 4 of 3-pointers, 4 of 3-pointers, 29 points, 15 rebounds and 7 assists; March 28 vs. Suns, 2 of 11 shooting, 2 of 5 three-pointers, 14 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists;
March 30 vs Bucks, 9 of 17 shooting, 4 of 7 three-pointers, 32 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists; April 1 vs Pistons, 4 of 15 shooting, 2 of 9 three-pointers, 18 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists. After Harden came to Philadelphia, he only had one 30+.
As for whether the team will give Dengge a big contract of 270 million, it may have to wait until the end of this year's playoffs, one is to see how far the team can go, on the other hand, it also depends on Dengge's own performance. The digital man is currently ranked fourth in the East, and according to the current ranking, the first round will be against the fifth-place Bulls. One last question, how big contract do you think Harden can get?