NBA-National Basketball Association roundup

July 9 (The Sports Xchange) - The Houston Rockets signed All-Star guard James Harden to a four-year, $118 million contract extension Saturday. The deal assures the Rockets of one additional year of Harden under contract in 2018-19 because of a player option that could return him to free agency in 2019, league sources told The Vertical. Harden's salary for next season will be $26.5 million under the new salary cap and increase incrementally over the course of the deal. "I'm happy to be here for four more years," Harden said. "This is home for me." The 26-year-old Harden averaged 29 points, 7.5 assists and 6.1 rebounds for the Rockets last season. - - - New Chicago Bulls guard Dwyane Wade joined New York Knicks star forward Carmelo Anthony in speaking out against recent gun violence that has dominated the news. Both athletes expressed their demands for social change in the wake of police shootings of African-American men and the sniper who killed five white police officers in Dallas this week. "The system is Broken," Anthony said Friday in an Instagram post. "Point blank period. It has been this way forever. Martin Luther King marched. Malcolm X rebelled. Muhammad Ali literally fought for US. Our anger should be towards the system. If the system doesn't change we will continue to turn on the TVs and see the same thing. We have to put the pressure on the people in charge in order to get this thing we call JUSTICE right." Wade took a similar position Saturday, two days after the events in Dallas. "As an athlete and as a person who has this platform, we like to sell things, we like to be on commercials, we like to do all these things," Wade said. "But when things come up in life I think you have a responsibility as a face of this world, if you believe in something to get behind that." - - - The Sacramento Kings signed free agent guards Arron Afflalo and Garrett Temple, and forwards Matt Barnes and Anthony Tolliver. - - - The Toronto Raptors signed first round draft picks Jakob Poeltl and Pascal Siakam to rookie scale contracts. The two-year deals include team options after the 2017-18 season. Toronto selected Poeltl with the ninth pick and Siakam with the 27th selection in last month's draft. - - - The Indiana Pacers officially signed veteran free agent center Al Jefferson to a multi-year contract. No terms were announced by the team but the deal is worth a reported $30.5 million over three years. The 6-foot-10, 289-pound Jefferson spent the last three seasons of his 12-year NBA career with Charlotte. - - - The Denver Nuggets re-signed free agent forward Darrell Arthur to a multi-year contract. (Editing by Andrew Both)