Now that the big guns have chosen which teams they’ll sign with, people have already begun looking towards next summer, when huge talents like Russell Westbrook and Blake Griffin will be on the open market. Prudent GMs and front offices might have already begun planning for the following summer, 2018, when arguably the game’s best shooting guard, James Harden, was scheduled to be a free agent. This news, however, significantly changes that.

Harden signed a 4-year contract extension today worth a whopping $118 million. More specifically, according to Yahoo! Sports‘ Adrian Wojnarowski, Harden is actually slated to make at least $30 million in two of the years, which definitely places him in the top tier of annual salaries.

It’s an interesting maneuver by Harden. Some might have thought given the manner in which the Rockets fell apart last season, including the loss of Dwight Howard, Harden might be tempted to test the market in 2018. However, that’s clearly not the case, and he’s committing to the team until at least the summer before the 2019 season, where he’ll have the opportunity to move forward with or decline a player option for the final year of the deal.

Now that Houston has bought themselves a few more years with their superstar, it’ll be up to them to build a contender around him before he has an opportunity to test the free agency waters again.

July 9, 2016