The reigning sixth man of the year is apparently not settling for anything less than the max deal ....
If anyone has been following the Oklahoma City Thunder lately, they will know that the Thunder are big on team work and team spirit, and want to keep the roster intact for the next few seasons. They have already signed Kevin Durant,
Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka, and now it is Harden’s turn.
Harden is on the final year of his contract which means he will become a free agent next summer. The Thunder want him to stay, and he has mentioned on numerous occasions that he wants to go back to the Thunder with a contract extension.
Both sides seemed pretty confident that they would be able to knock out a deal.
Just yesterday, Oklahoma City Thunder starting center Kendrick Perkins said that there is no doubt in his mind that Harden would be back.
However, it seems that the guys who are responsible in making sure that Harden gets the best deal are not too happy with the statements being made about Harden’s return.
And with that, Chris Broussard of ESPN recently took to twitter and wrote:
“Despite what KPerk says OKC & JHarden not close to deal. Sides are talking. JH wants to stay but wants max. Let’s see if OKC blinks b4 10/31.”
Clearly Broussard has some inside information which the public is unaware of. But the fact of the matter is that Harden is coming off the best year of his career, one in which he won the 6th man of the year award. He
knows that if he enters free agency next season, he will easily get a max deal. So, he wants the Thunder to give him a max deal as well, for four years worth $58 million. The Thunder want him to take a pay cut so that they can save some taxes. Apparently,
Harden is not budging.
The Thunder have till October 31st to reach an agreement on an extension with Harden, otherwise he will become a restricted free agent next summer. And then, some team can offer him a back loaded contract much like the
Houston Rockets offered to Jeremy Lin this summer. It will then make it even more difficult for the Thunder to adjust his salary.
Needless to say that it’s decision time now and the ball is in the court of the Thunder.
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