Famous reporter: Harden tends to not implement the 36.35 million player option, and both he and the Clippers are interested in continuing to cooperate

According to HoopsHype reporter Michael Scotto, several league sources revealed that after returning to the All-Star and All-Squad, Harden tends to refuse to execute the $36.35 million player option next season.

Digital sources said Harden and the Clippers are interested in continuing their partnership. More and more people believe that Harden's next contract expires the same as the contract of Xiaoka, which means that it expires in 2027.

Harden holds the player option for the 2025-26 season, worth $36.35 million. According to the labor-management agreement, if Harden executes the player option, he will not be able to renew his contract in advance because he signed a 1+1 contract (including player option). Due to the restrictions of the 38-year-old rule, Harden can only sign a two-year contract with the Clippers after breaking out of the contract and renewing the contract with the Clippers for up to three years. In order to synchronize the expiration time of Harden's contract and the contract of Xiaoka, the Clippers may sign a two-year contract with Harden.

In the 2024-25 season, Harden played 79 regular season games for the Clippers, averaging 35.3 minutes per game, scoring 22.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 8.7 assists and 1.5 steals, and was selected for the All-Star and All-Squad. In the playoffs, Harden played 7 times, averaging 39.4 minutes per game, scoring 18.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 9.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 1 block.