Los Angeles Clippers shockingly received help landing James Harden from Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka

Sportsnaut

For Los Angeles Clippers fans happy future Hall-of-Famer James Harden is on the roster, it seems they have Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka to thank.

Heading into the week, the Clippers own a 14-12 record. While that is nothing to text home about, the team has gotten off to a better start than many expected, since top star Kawhi Leonard has not logged a single minute this season.

There are two key reasons why LA has kept its head above water and over .500 while it waits for Leonard’s return. Firstly, a lot of credit has to go to head coach Tyronn Lue, who continues to show why he is one of the best in the game. However, the other reason is James Harden.

The 35-year-old is playing the most minutes on the team. Is second in scoring and rebounding, third in steals, and leads the team in assists. Even past his prime, he continues to do a little bit of everything and at a high level. One can only wonder where they would be if he wasn’t on the roster.

Last year he nearly passed on an opportunity to join the Clippers. There were a lot of rumors about a likely return to the Houston Rockets in free agency. However, this week the team’s head coach — Ime Udoka — revealed that he purposefully steered Harden away from returning to the team he previously spent nine years.

James Harden stats (2024): 21.4 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 8.4 APG, 1.6 SPG, 0.6 BPG, 34% 3PT

Ime Udoka persuaded James Harden and other veterans not to join Houston Rockets last summer

“My main thing for us was, ‘What fits best with our young guys to continue to grow?’” Udoka told The Athletic’s Sam Amick. “But also, out of respect for James, [I told him], ‘You’re at the stage where you want to win, and we’re not there yet.’ And it wasn’t just James. I had five, or six veteran guys who went to championship-level teams who wanted to come, and I said the same thing to all of them.

“They all went to other places, but they had Golden State, Milwaukee, Phoenix, and all these teams [wanting them] to come. But I told them, ‘We’re not there. Go try to win a championship.’ And so, it’s just about fit and where we’re at… Our guys needed the reps.”

James Harden contract: Two years, $70 million

Considering how the Rockets have played over the last year Udoka made the right choice. They played well to end the season and took that momentum into this season and have one of the best records in the NBA (17-9). And it certainly worked out for the Clippers since this season would be far different without Harden.