Thunder Reportedly Won’t Offer James Harden Max Deal


UPDATE: Yahoo! reports that Harden recently turned down a four-year, $52 million offer. The Thunder and Harden are still negotiating an extension.

by Ryne Nelson / @slaman10

The Thunder are putting the collective bargaining agreement to the test by trying to fit James Harden’s contract under the cap.

A max contract is waiting for Harden from another team, but according to ESPN, the Thunder are demanding that the Bearded One accept an extension worth less than the max:

Hoopsworld reported that the two sides have devised a heavily incentivized deal that could get Harden max money if the Thunder continue to dominate the West.

Harden spent media day saying that he expects to sign a long-term deal with OKC—another sign pointing toward a deal being met by Wednesday’s deadline.