James Harden, who is on the verge of signing a one-plus-one contract with the Philadelphia 76ers where he will take a 15 million dollar discount, spoke exclusively with Yahoo's Chris Haynes.
Harden, 32, was acquired by Philadelphia at last year's trade deadline in a package for Ben Simmons and averaged 21.0 points, 10.5 assists, and 7.1 rebounds in 21 regular games. However, in 12 postseason games with the Sixers, Harden—who was dealing with a hamstring injury—averaged 18.6 points with 8.6 assists, 5.7 boards, and 4.2 turnovers over 39.9 minutes, and yet another second-round playoff exit for the franchise.
“I don’t really listen to what people are saying," Harden told Haynes via YahooSports. "I wasn’t right last season and I still almost averaged a triple-double. If anybody else had those numbers, we’d be talking about them getting the max. People were used to seeing me averaging 40, 30 points, and so they viewed it as a down year. I was in Philadelphia for a couple of months and I had to learn on the fly. That’s just what it was. I’m in a good space physically and mentally right now, and I’m just looking forward to next season.”
Harden says he is taking a pay cut to help give 76ers general manager and friend Daryl Morey all of the flexibility he needs to compete for a championship.
"I told Daryl to improve the roster, sign who we needed to sign and give me whatever is left over," Harden said. "This is how bad I want to win. I want to compete for a championship. That’s all that matters to me at this stage. I’m willing to take less to put us in position to accomplish that.”
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