HOUSTON — James Harden has signed a four-year, $118 million contract extension with the Houston Rockets.

He was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2017-18 season.

The move Saturday comes after a frustrating season for the Rockets, who were ousted by Golden State in the first round of the playoffs. They fired Kevin McHale after a 4-7 start, and interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff went 37-34 the rest of the way.

A year ago, Houston reached the Western Conference Finals and Harden finished second in MVP voting.

HEAT: Dwyane Wade still isn’t totally ready to leave Miami.

He felt he had no choice.

The soon-to-be Chicago Bulls guard offered his side of the process that led to the end of his 13 years with the Miami Heat and deciding to play for his hometown team. Wade insisted he has “the utmost respect and admiration” for Heat President Pat Riley – who drafted him in 2003, coached him to his first title in 2006 and now played a role that led to him leaving a franchise that’s clearly in transition.

And despite his anger about the breakup, he made clear that he will never bash the Heat or Riley.

“I love Pat Riley,” Wade said. “He’s been someone who’s been a figurehead in my life since I got drafted here at 21. But at the same time, he has a job to do. He has a different hat to wear. That hat sometimes is not to be my best friend. That hat is to be the president of an organization and to be a businessman. And it sucks. You know somebody so well, you guys love each other, but the business side comes out.

“I’m not saying that we’ve hugged and cried and shed tears at this moment. But I love Pat. And I will always love Pat. And, you know, I know he feels the same way about me.”

Miami offered just over $40 million for two years with hopes he stayed. Chicago landed him with a contract worth about $47 million for two years.

Wade was in a hotel room in New York when he made the decision to leave Miami, and before long he started seeing the video montages of his Heat career coming across screens.

“They started playing tribute videos and I’ve assumed that’s what it’s going to be like when I’m no longer on this Earth,” Wade said.

KNICKS: New York signed Lithuanian forward Mindaugas Kuzminskas.

A 6-foot-9, 215-pound player, Kuzminskas has averaged 8.3 points and 2.9 rebounds in 221 career games over seven seasons with Siauliai (Lithuania), Zalgris (Lithuania) and Malaga (Spain). He is a four-time Lithuanian all-star (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013) and three-time Lithuanian national champion (2011, 2012, 2013).