James Harden reacted to signing a massive contract extension with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Cleveland Cavaliers officially signed star guard James Harden back on a three-year, $97 million contract extension.
Following the move, Harden took to social media to acknowledge the contract.
Harden was acquired by the Cavaliers at the NBA trade deadline, giving the team a second star to guard Donovan Mitchell. The veteran was brought in to help take some burden off Mitchell in terms of scoring and playmaking.
The future Hall-of-Famer guard played 26 games with Cleveland during the regular season. In this time, he averaged 20.5 points, 7.7 assists, and 4.8 rebounds in 33.8 minutes.
Harden provided a spark to the Cavaliers roster, helping them get to the Eastern Conference Finals. Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, they were swept out of the round by the eventual champion New York Knicks.
But having Harden back for the next few years gives the Cavaliers an open title window. Cleveland has a strong roster around Mitchell and Harden, offering them a chance to be a contender again.
Harden has been one of the best players in the NBA for years, and while he isn't where he was even a few seasons ago, he remains a strong offensive force. Defensively, Harden can be a liability, but he makes an effort to defend.
The big knock on Harden has been his performance in the playoffs over the years.
Harden has a career average of 24.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game, shooting 43.9 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from beyond the three-point line. But those numbers have dropped in the playoffs over his NBA career.
Overall, Harden has averaged 22.2 points, 6.4 assists, and 5.4 rebounds. His field-goal percentage has dropped to 42.4 percent, while his three-point percentage comes in at 33.7.
These are fairly alarming trends for Harden over a large sample size. But the Cavaliers don't seem to think it will be a problem moving forward.
If they surround Harden with enough scoring, the team may be able to overcome any issues that the star guard has. But if Harden does struggle in the playoffs again next season, there will be questions around the contract.
For now, the Cavaliers feel good about everything, and they will be trying to win a title next season. Harden will be a central piece to the puzzle for Cleveland next season, and all the Cavaliers can do is hope for the best from him.
