LOS ANGELES.- The veteran James Harden extended his contract with Cleveland Cavaliers for the next three seasons with a salary of 97 million dollars, American media reported this Thursday.
The “Beard”, who will turn 37 next week, landed last February in Cleveland in a transfer from the Los Angeles Clippers.
His first playoffs with the “Cavs” ended with a tough elimination against the New York Knicks in the final of the Eastern Conference for a resounding balance of 4-0.
Harden, who scored 20.5 points and 7.7 assists in 26 regular season games, lowered his performance in the playoffs to 19.2 points, with a statistic of 41% on field goals and 29.9% on three-pointers and a disastrous average of 4.7 turnovers.
Despite this disappointing performance and his age, Cleveland doubles down on the shooting guard by giving him a lucrative three-year contract, with a player option to be released in the third year, according to ESPN and The Athletic.
In late June, Harden waived his one-year option in exchange for $42.3 million to give the Cavaliers greater salary flexibility in their attempt to sign LeBron Jameswho ended up opting for the Philadelphia 76ers.
Selected 11 times for the All Star and three times the NBA’s leading scorer, Harden was the last American player to win the award. MVP (Most Valuable Player) in the 2017-2018 campaign.
Duplantis prevails
The Swedish pole vault star, Armand Duplantiswas imposed this Thursday at the meeting of Lausanne Diamond League (Swiss), with a jump of 6.21 meters that decided an exciting duel with his Greek rival Emmanouil Karalis.
In front of more than 5,000 spectators, on a temporary jumping hall on the shores of the lake Lemanthe double Olympic champion achieved his best mark of the season from his first attempt, while Karalis had to settle for 6.16m on his second attempt.
