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CHICAGO – James Harden is three years old and has $ 131.4 million remaining in the five-year extension he signed in July 2017.
When that contract expires in 2023, Harden, who became a Rocket in 2012, will pocket a total of $ 266.7 million in salaries, according to BasketballReference.com. He also has a 13-year endorsement deal with Adidas worth $ 200 million.
But the zeros that really matter here have to do with his legacy.
Zero rings. Zero appearances in the NBA Finals as Rocket.
Despite those hideous donuts, the Rockets still offered, more as they begged, Harden to stay in Houston by offering him a two-year, $ 103 million extension until 2025, when The Beard would be 36 and probably a slower pace.
So why are the Rockets desperately clinging to the unfortunate number 13 jersey that is drenched with the tears of multiple playoff disappointments?
Because he is the franchise. And bring the business.
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Harden is as identifiable to Rockets fans as the overlapping M logo is to the McDonald’s franchise.
Numbers have always blanked me wonderfully, so don’t trust my math here. But I don’t need an economics degree to understand that without Harden the Rockets are not worth the $ 2.2 billion Tilman Fertitta paid to acquire the team.
If you’re a Rockets fan, try to think of the idea that going to home games at the Toyota Center after the pandemic is over will only feature PJ Tucker and Eric Gordon as the “star attraction.”
Gross!
If it’s any consolation, Trevor Ariza is heading back to Houston after a trade that would send Robert Covington to Portland.
But wait, isn’t this the same Trevor Ariza who went 0 of 12 from the field, including 0 of 9 of 3 when the Rockets choked at home in Game 7 of the 2018 Western Conference Finals against the violent Warriors?
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DAMN THAT IS.
Realizing his championship window is sealed in Houston, Harden is looking for a trade. Preferably Brooklyn or Philadelphia, where you can meet former Rockets general manager Daryl Morey.
For a Rockets franchise that seemed to have dedicated its existence to allowing, placating and surrendering to the whims and whims of a superstar, trading and acquiring players, and supposedly hiring and firing coaches to suit their needs, it must be so overwhelming to see what Harden wants. leave.
And stating that demand so publicly is an insult to injury.
Just as Anthony Davis made his way in New Orleans, Harden will eventually leave Houston because it’s bad for business to keep a dissatisfied employee who will probably no longer do his best until his wish is fulfilled.
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I have always been a supporter of work, an advocate for good pay, and a healthy and safe workplace.
But I’m also from the old school.
When an NBA player signs a contract in good faith, I prefer to see him fulfill the term of that contract.
But we are in 2020. The iPhone 12 is available. Now I watch movies on my laptop and a pandemic is raging.
The world is changing. For the better. For worse.
