Monday, June 25th, 2012 at 9:00 am  |  142 responses

James Harden Believes a ‘Dynasty’ is Being Built in OKC


by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni

The pain of losing the NBA Finals to the Miami Heat remains raw for the OKC Thunder’s young stars, but they’re already looking forward to what the future holds for them.

And according to James Harden, who struggled mightily in the championship round, the Thunder can expect to be the ones hoisting up championship trophies going forward.

Harden says he wants to sign a long-term deal in OKC — and might take a bit less money to make that happen — in order to help the franchise dominate the NBA for years to come.

From the Oklahoman:

Serge Ibaka and Eric Maynor join Harden as Thunder players who will be eligible to begin negotiating extensions to their rookie contracts starting July 1. But with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook already signed to max contracts, it’s anyone’s guess how the Thunder will be able to afford all five players. “I’m just leaving it up to my agent and Sam (Presti),” Harden said. “They’ll do a pretty good job of working it out. I’m focused on several other things right now. But when the time is (right), they’ll figure it out and it’ll be done.” Harden is widely considered to be a top five shooting guard and potentially a third maximum-allowable contract level player. But he said Saturday that team success is more important to him than money and potentially making more elsewhere.

“This is something special here,” Harden said. “A dynasty is being built here. So we’re winning we’re having fun and we’re brothers. The other stuff, you can’t buy it.” Harden said his close friendships with his teammates is an extremely important factor in his decision as well. “This team is like a family,” Harden said. “Like, we’re really brothers. We hang out most of the time every single day. You won’t find any other team like this. I love it here.”

James Harden isn’t alone in his stated willingness to forego dollars in order to remain in OKC. Eric Maynor also stressed the importance of sacrificing a little for the current team to remain intact.

Talk of a dynasty may be wildly premature, but one thing is certain: should the OKC Thunder somehow find a way to keep this group together, they will be serious NBA championship contenders for years to come.

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  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    Money is the one thing that can come in-between any family.

  • Ball.A.BabY

    Now that’s what I call a stand up ball player… when you have team mates who you have great chemistry with as a ball club, especially on a professional level of basketball. That does not come by very often… and IMO is alot worth than money…
    first ever post, love SLAM always on here;
    Filopino born, NZ raised n Now Breeding in Australia… you can call me
    Ball.A.Baby

  • biggieman

    I like it!!! If Durant and Westbrook maybe gave up just a little to help sign this core group for the long term, they are only going to get better, and better. I don’t see anyone in the west who can hang with them in the years to come… They could have had the trophy this year if James Harden would have decided to show up in the Finals at all, they are all so young and only getting better. I really hope they figure out a way to make it happen…

  • floe

    yup, durant and westbrook should def put some money on the table to make this work.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

    They better find somebody that can score in the block though.

  • tpathi1

    its funny cause james harden almost sounds like a hero for taking a pay cut.but when bosh wade and james did (sort of) they get to look like the villains of the NBA..this whole idea of taking a pay cut from james harden is because the Heat already did this two years ago.

  • Riptide

    harden uses his brain off court the same way on it. Good move.

  • Feez_22

    … unless you can restructure your NBA contract, how in the world can westbrook and durant put some money on the table to make this work exactly? Both of them have been extended already… Durant in 2010 and westbrook this year. Westbrook pretty much signed a 5 yr 80M$ extension (estimates by many but don’t expect it to be much lower than 80M. i think the lowest he goes is 75-78M when the $ is put out there in public by the team). Durant signed a 5 yr 85M dollar extension. they have room for another impact guy i believe but i am with eboy in that they need a post scorer. Maybe they trade either harden or ibaka for a high draft pick next year? who knows. However, its not all roses with the squad at all. if OKC messes this up… they may not be as potential of a dynasty as people think

  • http://www.fullc0urtpress.com KHOLIDAY05

    Not sure he should’ve put this out there right now, especially after the way he played in the finals. You want to stick with ur OKC family (which is understandable), but you want to get what you’re worth in the process. Hope OKC management doesn’t try to use this to their advantage during negotiations.

  • Magic fan

    this all sound nice, but there is still a team in miami that has somethin to say about this

  • MirChilly

    So Nick Anderson believes the Orlando Magic I mean James Harden believes the thunder can be a dynasty. Well, If him and Ibaka actually show up then it’s possible.

  • Wixurrs

    so Harden and OKC are heroes for taking paycuts but Lebron and Bosh are villains for turning down max deals? Also “Dynasty” implies 3 titles or more. Something Lebron made the mistake in saying…

  • http://blackamericaweb.com charliewinning

    He solidified in the Finals that a max deal from anyone is out of the question, which is awesome for OKC. Losing this year–with Harden playing subpar–might have been the best thing for the team long term.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Slick Ric

    You miami bandwagoners need to stop your b1tch1ng. got damn

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    Is Harden a top five shooting guard? That is an interesting question.
    Wade, Kobe, Manu, Joe Johnson and Monta Ellis are still ahead of him on my list.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Wayno

    I’d like to see Harden as a #1 or #2 option on a team…I think that would be more telling of his place on the top 5 SG list.

  • http://www.soundcloud.com/tray-5 T-Ray

    Wayno agreed. I think it’s kind of hard for him to have a stable spot on that list when you’re coming off the bench, playing with the three time scoring champ and arguably the second best player in the L, and playing with one of the best PG in the game. He needs room to flourish.

  • tpathi1

    KD already qualifies for the D Rose rule and Westbrook will soon qualify for the rule at the rate he is playing. Both KD and Westbrook will be eligibile for max deals and will be entitled to the %5 salary increase. Are the OKC management banking on the fact that neither one of these two players will be taking advantage of their eligibility?

  • Da-Meat-Hook

    good point, tpathi1.

  • http://Slamonline.com nbk

    The fact that Harden wanted to go to ASU to be the man, and knowing how he is and acts away from the NBA I would like to call this BS. If he gets offered a huge contract I highly doubt he turns it down. Some team is still likely to offer him close to a max deal. It’s hard to turn down an extra $30M or whatever he is offered by Phoenix or Toronto.

  • clydesays

    Dynasty to me implies at LEAST 3 championships with a core intact within decade. Bulls, Spurs & Lakers qualify over the past few decades. Sure, OKC has the POTENTIAL to be a Dynasty, but I wouldn’t even mention that word until the team wins a single Championship and seems like it will contend for more…

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    Tpathi
    If I’m not mistaken you can only use the Derrick Rose rule on one player. So Westbrook didn’t get it. It’s why Minnesota refused to use it on Kevin Love because they wanted to save it for Rubio.

  • bike

    Did Harden’s stock really drop that bad because he had a poor showing over 5 finals games against a team that he matched up poorly against? OKC would not have made the finals w/o him. I don’t believe he is a top 5 SG but seems like he could wind up being a top option on several teams…

  • Jerome

    Westbrook needs to be traded. Not a team player. Will not help any TEAM win a championship … unless he learns to pass. OF course he can get his shot whenever he wants. Miami made the smart decision of letting Russ beat his own team.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Redd

    Things like this make OKC look bad. One final appearance & a team with not much financial help is going to become a dynasty before even one ring.

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMo_HcRBnUY LakeShow

    tpath1, Why do you think he got it from the Heat when they took their pay cut? Did they take the idea from Gilbert Arenas?
    “[19] Arenas was offered a five-year contract worth more than $100 million by the Golden State Warriors and another max deal by the Wizards, a six-year deal worth $124 million.[20] On July 13, 2008, Arenas signed a contract worth $111 million over six years with the Wizards.[21]
    Gil was the initial paycutter homie.

  • tpathi1

    got it AllenP thanks for the clear up.

  • tpathi1

    LakeShow, the initial pay cutter was Shaq who gave away 10-12 million to sign Antoine Walker to the Miami Heat (the year they won and Antoine Walker did not do a damn thing!) – i only mentioned the Miami Heat because their big 3 did something similar in actually having three max players NOT sign max deals in order to play with each other and ultimately win the championship…im anticipating that the world will say that James Harden is this great guy for taking less money to play with KD and Westbrook and co. My opinion is that Harden would not have even thought about taking less money, but knows he has to now since the Heat already did.

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMo_HcRBnUY LakeShow

    Harden is not an established player, like James, Wade, and Bosh were/are. No one know’s if Harden is a 5 million a year guy or 10m+. James, Wade, Bosh are all MAX players. Harden taking a pay cut as a role player and a 6th man is probably thought to be more admirable than MAX guys taking a pay cut just based upon total salary alone. I still admire James, Wade, and Bosh for doing that also though.

  • tpathi1

    If i were OKC i would worry more about seeing how interested Phil Jackson might be in coaching over there and then about getting good quality big men..not signing a 6th man..i am pretty sure they are modeling the whole franchise after the Spurs but what they don’t seem to understand is that (in my opinion) they don’t have the management/coaching to run like the Spurs

  • Rainman

    Difference is these guys are taking pay cuts to stay on the same team together. They didn’t decide years ahead of time they wud all be playing on the same team, whether that be for more or less money.

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    Despite a disappointing Final’s run, I still have JHarden in the Top-5 over JJohnson.

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    I will go out on a limb and predict that Harden starts next season over Thabo. He is great coming off the bench but I think OKC would be better off starting another ballhandler/playmaker next to Westbrook.

  • tpathi1

    rainman, speaking for myself…if i were in the league and was a superstar and my brother/good friends were in the league and superstars in their own right, hell they can be bummy ball players of all i care, but i would definately sell my talents for less money to have the opportunity to play with my own…Lebron didn’t decide in those years that he was not going to win a ring with Cleveland nor did Wade…Bosh plays for the raptors so who cares what he thinks, he sure as hell wasn’t thinking about winning a championship over there…if people are mad that these guys took 5 yr extensions and not max deals to keep their options open especially for their prime basketball years then be mad…these guys will go down as nothing but intelligent in my book

  • Ldub

    I would like to see Harden stay in OKC and see what these boys can do. Unfortunately its going to be extremely hard to do, all thanks to the CBA. Even if he takes less money, and say Serge does too, its going to be similar to Miami,LAL or NY. Where you wont have much wiggle room for signings/trades when they are available. @tpath…you know phil would change the team to the triangle which wont fit the Thunder. Youre putting the ball in Durants hands yes…but RW would be totally thrown off his game. Plus the Thunder do have good passing big men. They are a defensive run and gun team. Slowing it down for the triangle (IMO) wouldnt be good. Also people are so critical of Brooks. They thunder have improved each year under his coaching right? Last year it was semi’s and this year it was the Finals. One would assume with the talent and experience, they can take it in 2013. Unless they meet the Heat again! LOL

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    I still prefer Joe Johnson. That’s my guy.

  • tpathi1

    i dont necessarily think that scott brooks is a good/great coach and at times i have been critical of him, but i dont know if he necessarily a bad coach either… but what i do know is that Phil Jackson IS a great coach. You can’t deny results, and the fact of the matter is every single coaching stint that Phil Jackson had ended with atleast winning 2 rings (bare minimum, Kobe’s Lakers won 2 when Phil came back). I think the triangle would be perfectly fine for the Thunder. The triangle works better for passing big men too, plus Westbrook would get post ups too. Having Phil Jackson coach an already contending team is money in the bank, they WILL win 2 rings with him atleast, if not more!!

  • Heals

    I just don’t see it. To me a Dynasty is 3 chips in around 5 years or so at the minimum (roughly speaking). With how The L is shaping up it’s gonna be stretch for any team to do that. Then again looking at the history of NBA Champs, it’s not necessarily the most inclusive group…

  • http://Slamonline.com nbk

    Monta Ellis or Eric Gordon though?

  • tpathi1

    dynasties are what the NBA is all about!..Don’t be surprised if LBJ’s “not one not two..” ends up coming true (hopefully not, hopefully it goes somethin like the Heat win then the Bulls win then the Heat win then the Bulls win, and then after ten years of this D Rose and LBJ face off for the final time to see who gets the best of the other..for bragging rights and to see who will go down as the 2nd best of all time and who will be the 3rd best of all time)

  • tpathi1

    the only teams in the west i see competing with this current OKC lineup are the memphis grizzlies and la lakers

  • http://Slamonline.com nbk

    I can tell you right now Derrick Rose will never be in the top 10 conversation.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Slick Ric

    I can tell you right now NBK statement is very misguided…and Eric Gordon definitely deserves more top SG consideration than Harden.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Slick Ric

    ^ *top 5*

  • http://Slamonline.com nbk

    Naw it isn’t. You don’t tear your ACL at 24 and comeback and do things you already weren’t on pace to do. Derrick Rose can be an all-time great without getting in that conversation. It’s not a knock on him and it certainly isn’t misguided. It’s just true.

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMo_HcRBnUY LakeShow

    Trolls.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Slick Ric

    What do you mean already on pace to do……You don’t think Rose was a top 10 player already?

  • tpathi1

    NBK never say never!!

  • http://Slamonline.com nbk

    All-time bruh

  • tpathi1

    3 league MVP’s and 4 rings should do the trick NBK

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