Apr 29, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; LA Clippers guard James Harden (1) during the fourth quarter against the Denver Nuggets during game five of the first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Clippers President Addresses James Harden's Future With Team

Originally posted on Los Angeles Clippers on SI
By Farbod Esnaashari | Last updated May 5, 2025 4:20 PM ET

While the LA Clippers had a successful regular season, the franchise is caught between a rock and a hard place for the upcoming 2025-26 NBA season.

No one expected the Clippers to be a competitive team this season, but they were. Unfortunately, they were also a massive disappointment in the playoffs after failing to get out of the first round against a very volatile Denver Nuggets team.

As the months go on, the team will have numerous big decisions to make, including how they want to handle the future of their All-Star guard James Harden.

Making his 11th #NBAAllStar appearance... James Harden of the @LAClippers.

Drafted as the 3rd pick in 2009 out of Arizona State, @JHarden13 is averaging 21.7 PPG, 5.8 RPG and 8.4 APG for the Clippers this season. pic.twitter.com/SkbWMic13q
— #NBAAllStar (@NBAAllStar) January 30, 2025

While Harden may have disappointed in Game 7, he was carrying the team offensively for an entire season, most of the time, on his own. Next season, he has a player option for $36 million that he can choose to opt out of.

During an exit interview, LA Clippers President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank spoke about Harden's future with the team. Frank admitted that he gave zero thought on Harden not returning next season.

"I haven't given it any, but I also am respectful of the fact that James has a player option," Frank admitted. "Everything that we wanted from James, we got it...When we initially traded for [him], he came as 3rd guy."

Lawrence Frank on if he has thoughts on not having Harden/Kawhi next season:

"I haven't given it any, but I also am respectful of the fact that James has a player option... Everything that we wanted from James, we got it...When we initially traded for [him], he came as 3rd guy."
— Farbod Esnaashari (@Farbod_E) May 5, 2025

With the way things look, the LA Clippers have no other options besides running it back next season. They'll have to improve on the margins by adding front-court help, which Frank admitted, and also hope that they'll be healthy again, which is the biggest issue.

“We feel really good about our core," Frank said. "And we expect to be really good again next season.”

This article first appeared on Los Angeles Clippers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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