James Harden’s Nets Decision Became a $60M Mistake

James Harden had a chance to secure more than $160 million from the Brooklyn Nets.

He decided to bet on himself instead.

A few years later, that decision looks like one of the most expensive financial gambles in recent NBA history.

Bleacher Report recently named Harden the No. 1 NBA “bag fumble” of the past several years, and it is not hard to see why. Unlike most of the players on the list, Harden wasn't simply leaving tens of millions of dollars on the table. He was potentially walking away from hundreds of millions.

Back in 2021, the Nets reportedly offered Harden a three-year, $161 million contract extension, according to Brian Lewis of the New York Post. Harden turned it down, in part because he was in a position to potentially qualify for an even bigger extension the following offseason.

Had things gone according to plan, Harden could have been looking at a four-year, $227 million extension with Brooklyn.

Instead, everything went sideways.

The Nets' championship window with Harden, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving fell apart much faster than anyone expected. Harden was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in February 2022, less than a year after arriving in Brooklyn in the blockbuster deal with the Houston Rockets.

Rather than eventually signing that massive extension with the Nets, Harden reunited with Daryl Morey in Philadelphia.

The Sixers still gave Harden a significant contract, but it was nowhere near the money he had originally turned down. He signed a two-year, $68.6 million deal with Philadelphia in 2022, with a player option for the second season.

The thinking was pretty simple. Harden would take less money in the short term, give Philadelphia some flexibility to build a better roster and then have another chance to cash in the following summer.

That didn't happen.

After another disappointing playoff exit, Harden's relationship with the Sixers deteriorated. Morey and Philadelphia reportedly failed to reach an agreement with Harden before he ultimately opted into the second year of his contract and requested a trade.

The Sixers eventually sent him to the Los Angeles Clippers in October 2023.

By that point, the NBA's new collective bargaining agreement had also changed the way teams could spend. The second apron came with significant restrictions, making it much harder for teams to hand out massive contracts without dealing with major roster-building consequences.

The Clippers weren't willing to make that kind of commitment to Harden.

He eventually agreed to a two-year, $70 million contract with Los Angeles, with a player option for the second season.

Looking just at the three-year stretch covered by the extension Harden could have signed with Brooklyn, the difference is pretty significant. Harden made just over $100 million during that span instead of the $161 million the Nets reportedly offered him.

That's roughly a $60 million difference.

And that doesn't even factor in the reported four-year, $227 million extension Harden could have been eligible for had he remained in Brooklyn.

Of course, Harden hasn't exactly struggled financially. He has earned more than $500 million throughout his NBA career and remains one of the highest-paid players in league history.

So this isn't a story about Harden suddenly losing everything.

Still, the Nets' decision stands out.

Harden bet on himself because he believed an even bigger payday was coming. Instead, a trade, a deteriorating relationship with Philadelphia and a changing NBA financial landscape all worked against him.

For the Nets, it's another strange footnote to one of the most disappointing stretches in franchise history.

Brooklyn didn't get the long-term commitment from Harden, and Harden didn't get the massive payday he was hoping for.

Both sides eventually moved on.

The money, though, never came back.