NBA News 2013: James Harden enters break with Rockets hot

English: James Harden, a player for the Oklahoma City Thunder at ARCO Arena. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

James Harden’s head will be on a swivel long before the NBA All-Star Game finally tips off on Sunday.

As the Houston Rockets’ lone All-Star and the unofficial host of the festivities that will take place in his team’s town, he’ll be pulled a few dozen different ways for appearances, interviews, photo-shoots and — last but certainly not least — his job as a coach in the celebrity game on Friday. But considering his young-and-upcoming team is still in need of the sort of talent that will be in ample supply at the event, he’ll leave some time for the sort of recruiting effort that is tailor-made for this annual, star-studded scene.

“I’ll do a little bit of recruiting during the All-Star break, but my main focus is on just trying to get this team focused on every single game, every practice,” Harden, whose team has significant salary cap space that can be used this summer if they don’t do a major deal before the Feb. 21 trade deadline, told USA TODAY Sports on Sunday.

“I can’t worry about who we want to recruit and things like that. … For the most part, we’re trying to make the playoffs.”

http://www.hoopsworld.com/james-harden-enters-break-with-rockets-hot-recruiting/

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NBA News 2012: Harden Sought Trade Kicker In Extension Talks With Thunder

English: James Harden, a player for the Oklahoma City Thunder at ARCO Arena. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

During extension talks with the Oklahoma City Thunder, James Harden and his agent sought a 15 percent trade kicker.

Harden was entertaining taking less than a max contract, but wanted a financial incentive should the Thunder trade him.

The Thunder were offering Harden a four-year contract in the neighborhood of $53 million.

With the Houston Rockets, Harden will be able to sign a five-year contract.

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/224232/Harden_Sought_Trade_Kicker_In_Extension_Talks_With_Thunder

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NBA News 2012: James Harden expects to stay in OKC

English: James Harden, a player for the Oklahoma City Thunder at ARCO Arena. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The reigning Sixth Man of the Year says he doesn't plan to be coming off anyone's bench but Oklahoma City's.

James Harden said Saturday that he "loves it" with the Thunder and expects a contract extension to be worked out between his agent and Oklahoma City general manager Sam Presti.

"They'll do a pretty good job of working it out," Harden said. "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."

In his third season, Harden averaged 16.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists while coming off the bench for the Western Conference champions and proved to be a key piece for the young and talented Thunder.

Harden, 22, said he recognizes the Thunder are in a good place, as Oklahoma City features a nucleus of 23-year-old Kevin Durant who won the league's scoring title and 23-year-old point guard Russell Westbrook.

"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."

As of July 1, Harden, along with Serge Ibaka and Eric Maynor, will become eligible to negotiate extensions to their rookie deals. The Thunder already have signed Durant and Westbrook to long-term deals and some wonder if Oklahoma City will be able to keep all of its talent together. Harden, however, cites the unique togetherness of the team as a reason why he might take less money to stay in OKC.

"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."

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/8089834/james-harden-oklahoma-city-thunder-says-expects-sign-extension

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NBA News 2012: Harden to top of Sixth Man of Year debate

James Harden, a player for the Oklahoma City Thunder at ARCO Arena. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The 2011-12 Sixth Man of the Year award had James Harden's name on it since the lockout ended in December.

Sure, there were other candidates; Harden finished seventh in Sixth Man voting last year. But none of the usual veteran suspects (Jamal Crawford, Manu Ginobili, Lamar Odom, Jason Terry) had near the potential for improvement than Harden, who showed growth in last year's playoffs and just turned 22 last summer.

And improve is exactly what Harden has done, increasing his scoring output from 12.2 to 16.8 points per game. No regular bench player has had a bigger role than Harden, who has averaged more than 31 minutes and has given his team a lift every time he has stepped on the floor. And it's not like he's been putting up numbers on a bad team. He's the third or fourth most important player on one of the four elite teams in the league.

Harden's increased production comes in part because he's playing more minutes, but also because he has scored much more efficiently than he did in his first two seasons. In fact, Harden has been the most efficient backcourt player in the league this year, leading all guards in true shooting percentage.

http://www.nba.com/2012/news/features/john_schuhmann/04/25/sixth-man-award/index.html

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