Nicolas Batum

Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank says that retaining James Harden is the front office’s “first priority” this offseason, according to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times.

Harden has a $36.3MM option on his contract for next season. He must decide whether to pick it up before the free agent period begins. If he doesn’t, Frank will look to re-sign Harden to a multiyear deal.

“Because James has a player option, it would be irresponsible for me not to have contingency plans with it,” Frank said. “But I’m going in with the intent that if he doesn’t pick up his option, that we’re going to be able to reach an agreement that works well for James and works well for the Clippers.”

Frank lavished praise on Harden despite the veteran guard’s underwhelming playoff performances against Denver. Frank noted that Harden appeared in 79 regular season games, played the fifth-most total minutes in the NBA (2,789), was fifth in the league in assists per game (8.7), while also averaging 22.8 points per game.

“We really asked James to do a lot,” Frank said via Zoom. “And at his age to deliver what he did…[He played in] 79 games, and he does that time and time and time again. We have a deep appreciation for that sort of availability and to be able to deliver and do what he did…We have a great level of appreciation for what James did this year.”

Frank plans to continue to build the team around Kawhi Leonard and Harden. Leonard appeared in 37 regular season games this season after returning from a knee ailment that delayed his season debut until Jan. 4.

“There’s another level for him out there that he’s going to get to next year,” Frank said, per Beth Harris of The Associated Press. “I think looking at next year that we can be better with more games from Kawhi.”

Here’s more from Frank’s press conference:

• Despite the Game 7 meltdown against the Nuggets, Frank is optimistic the core of the roster can produce better results in the postseason. “It was great that we were healthy for the first time in a long time, but that doesn’t mean you only get one shot at it,” he said. “We’ll keep on taking cracks at it, and at the same time we’ve always been open-minded and learning the errors of our way and finding areas where we can correct and get better.”
• Nicolas Batum has a $4.9MM option on his contract and Frank hopes the veteran forward picks it up. “Yes, 1,000 percent, we hope that Nico comes back,” he said.
• He admits the team needs some younger bodies. “We’re the oldest team in the league,” he said, per Janis Carr of the Orange County Register. “Always the quandary that we’ve had is you that can have youth, but if the deck is stacked … if you have a bunch of veterans ahead of ’em, when does the youth really ever get in the game?”
• While the Clippers generally lack financial flexibility, Frank feels he can round out the roster with some lower-cost options. “We have the non-taxpayer mid-level, which is the same tool that was used to sign Derrick Jones Jr. last summer,” he said. “We also have some trade exceptions and we’ll always be an attractive place at the minimum market based on our history of not just how the guys making the minimum have played, but how we’ve taken care of ’em and rewarded ’em.”