James Harden tops Stephen Curry with a $228 million contract

Houston Rockets guard James Harden wasted no time topping the record contract extension that Golden State Warriors MVP guard Stephen Curry just signed.

It was reported earlier today by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that Houston Rockets star, James Harden was signing a four-year contract extension worth $228 million dollars. As you know, unless you have been living under a rock, the past week, Stephen Curry, the two-time MVP and NBA Champion, signed a five-year contract extension worth $201 million.

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Now, the questions worth asking are is it worth it for Harden to sign that big of a contract extension and is Harden worth the $228 million he is receiving in the four years?

To the first question if it is worth it for Harden to sign the biggest contract extension in NBA History, is that it is not as worth it as one might think. From a free agent perspective, the contract itself hurts the chances of the Rockets landing a top free agent unless it’s a buyout, like with Carmelo Anthony, who the Rockets are trying to pursue. It will hurt Houston’s chances of signing other free agents in the future because he has the highest contract in the history and I’m not sure how willing his other teammates would be willing to sacrifice to take paycuts to keep their team together. Additionally, Harden signed a contract extension that runs through the 2019-2020 season worth $118.1 million according to Sports Illustrated. I understand why Harden wanted the contract extension, but if it does not help keep the team together that could potentially make a deep playoff run, it could hurt him more than benefit him.

To the second question, if Harden is worth the $228 million he is receiving over the next four years is a difficult thing to gauge. Rockets general manager Daryl Morey might judge Harden’s value as a player as the potential of what he could do over the next four years that would earn him that contract money. Bob Myers, the Warriors general manager might judge Curry’s value as a player who has done everything right as a player to almost single-handedly turning around one of the bottomfeeder franchises in the league to royalty.

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Myers could also judge Curry’s value based on the sacrifices he made to put the Warriors into a championship team such as the four year/ $44 million dollar contract extension he received back in 2012. Curry has a hand in the fun, joyous culture the Warriors possess while winning on the court.

Curry, being a two-time champion and MVP, and making multiple sacrifices for the franchise deserves every penny of his contract extension. Only time will tell if Harden, runner up for MVP twice and multiple Western Conference Finals appearances, deserves every penny of his contract.