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Sam Presti Addresses Possible Harden Extension

September 11th, 2012 at 9:57am CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder held a press conference yesterday to officially announce the team's extension for Serge Ibaka, and it didn't take long for the line of questioning to turn to the issue on everyone's mind: Can the Thunder keep James Harden too? GM Sam Presti stressed that Harden was an important part of the team and that Oklahoma City is hopeful he'll be around long-term, but cautioned that an extension won't be easy.

"We've been very upfront and transparent with everybody that we have some inherent challenges that we face as an organization as a result of the new collective bargaining agreement," Presti said, according to Jenni Carlson of the Oklahoman. "I know we'd love to have him here. I think James would like to be here as well. But at the end of the day… you have to find a way to make it work for everybody."

With Ibaka under contract for $12.25MM annually starting next summer, Oklahoma City already has over $62MM in guaranteed salary committed to its 2013/14 roster. Throw in team options for Cole Aldrich, Lazar Hayward, and Reggie Jackson, and the Thunder could end up approaching the luxury-tax threshold without even signing Harden. Amnestying Kendrick Perkins could free up some money, but the team would miss his presence in the middle, and if Harden gets close to a max deal, the luxury tax could be a concern anyway.

Presti is one of the league's most creative executives, and it won't be a surprise if he finds a way to lock up Harden this offseason or next. But as his comments suggest, it may not be as simple as handing the All-Star guard a long-term extension and living with the tax hit.

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Odds & Ends: Ibaka, Thunder, 2013 Draft, D12

September 3rd, 2012 at 3:39pm CST by Luke Adams

A happy Labor Day to our American readers, and a happy Labour Day to those in Canada! This holiday Monday hasn't been a busy one when it comes to NBA news and rumors, but there are still a number of noteworthy links trickling in. Let's round up a few of them….

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Washburn On Harden, Jones, Rockets

September 2nd, 2012 at 1:54pm CST by Daniel Seco

Free agent swingman Mickael Pietrus has made it clear he isn't willing to sign for the veteran's minimum, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Pietrus has expressed an interest in playing for the Celtics and taking the team's $1.95MM biannual exception, but Boston will likely hold onto it until the regular season, using it on a player who's been waived by another team. 

Here's the latest news and headlines from Washburn…

  • Magic Johnson recently voiced his opinion on the moves the Lakers made this offseason. “It was a great move for the Lakers, not just for now but for the future because now we’ll have somebody we can build the Lakers around once Kobe is gone,”Johnson said. “I think that Steve Nash was also a key trade because Steve will make everybody better like Dwight Howard will make all the players better because he’s a great defender and he can get out on that break and run the pick-and-roll well.”
  • The Thunder's decision to re-sign James Harden isn't a lock even after helping the United States win a gold medal this summer in London. Team general manager Sam Presti may be reluctant to offer him a new contract due to Harden's struggles during the NBA Finals in which he missed 16 of 20 shots in Game 3 and 4 losses to Miami. “We’ll be open in saying that there are a lot of inherent challenges this organization faces as a result of the new CBA,” Presti said. “With that said, we also maintained that we’re going to figure out a way to build a team that’s competitive within the new system and capable of competing."
  • Former Cavs guard Damon Jones has moved on from his playing days and is now looking to make a career as a coach. He helped out friend Tyronn Lue with the Celtics this summer during the team's summer league and truly enjoyed the experience. “When you play like I have for 12 years, there’s so many different things that I saw during the course of my career that I can extend to younger players,” Jones said. “The players that we have here are very receptive. It’s been fun. I couldn’t ask for anything better.”
  • Rockets general manager Daryl Morey approached the summer in search of a superstar player to build his roster around but enters the fall with Jeremy Lin as his big ticket acquisition of the offseason. While Morey didn't add the franchise player he was looking to acquire, the general manager is excited about what Lin brings to his team. "We’re always looking for opportunities to upgrade our team," Morey said. "We really like that we have Jeremy [Lin] and the other young players that we have and the other young players improving over time."
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Harden On Extension, Thunder, Kobe, LeBron, KD

August 31st, 2012 at 10:42pm CST by Chuck Myron

James Harden is in the midst of a remarkable few months. He reached his first NBA Finals in June, and won an Olympic gold medal a few weeks ago. Soon he'll have to decide whether to sign a long-term extension with the Thunder, but this week he's been in Spain promoting the NBA 3x Tour, a series of streetball and three-on-three events sponsored by Spanish bank and NBA partner BBVA. He spoke with Marca.com earlier about his desire to remain with the Thunder, and he reiterates those comments in a video posted on YouTube by basket4us.com (hat tip to Royce Young of DailyThunder.com). The narration is in Spanish, but all of Harden's comments are in English, and he had plenty to say about the Thunder, his game, and the preeminent stars of the league.

On whether he'll remain with the Thunder after this season:

"It's decisions, but I love the Thunder. I'm excited to be here. I think we've definitely grown a brotherhood, so hopefully I'll definitely want to be in Oklahoma."

On the appeal of the Thunder:

"We're young, and we're exciting. I think that's why everybody likes us a lot, because we're exciting and we get the job done. We've got to just keep doing it and win games."

On his continued development:

"I've got to improve. I improve every single year. That's my mindset. You've got to be better every single year, because there's some very good, talented guys in this league. This summer was a very good summer for me, and I've got to go into training camp improved and ready to go."

On Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Kevin Durant:

"I've been watching (Bryant) since I was young. I'm from L.A., so I've been growing up watching him. Obviously, LeBron is very versatile, basically can do a lot of things, but I've been watching Kobe since I was little. Obviously, Kevin is my favorite player as well. He's on my team."

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Odds & Ends: Griffin, Sacks, Harden, Davis, Nash

August 25th, 2012 at 5:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Blake Griffin believes the Clippers have become a "free agent destination," and he thinks player personnel director Gary Sacks is the right man to pursue them from the GM's chair, according to comments he made to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Sacks, along with team president Andy Roeser and coach Vinny Del Negro, have shared the GM duties since Neil Olshey jumped to the Blazers, but Griffin made it clear which one he wants to assume the job full-time. "With the moves that the front office made — and now with Gary Sacks, who hopefully steps into that GM role — that made it easy for me and I think this is the place where everybody wants to come," Griffin said. "I think Gary has a great relationship with all the players and the players like him. If he is finally named GM, I think that's just the icing on the cake of having a franchise that is complete." We've got more weekend rumblings right here:

  • James Harden believes Serge Ibaka deserved his four-year extension from the Thunder, and while saying he's unsure if he and the team will reach a similar accord this summer, Harden expressed a desire to stay in Oklahoma City, where he feels at home with his teammates, as he told the Spanish website Marca.com (translation via HoopsHype).
  • Hornets No. 1 overall pick Anthony Davis dishes about his time with the U.S. Olympic team, his similarities to Kevin Garnett, and his thoughts on playing with Eric Gordon in a Q&A with Joe Brescia of The New York Times.
  • Doug Smith of the Toronto Star examines the relationship between Lakers point guard Steve Nash and Blazers assistant coach Jay Triano, who are teaming up to lead the Canadian national team as GM and head coach, respectively.
  • Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel looks at whether it's worth it for the Magic to wait to make a big splash in free agency until 2016, when Kevin Durant becomes a free agent. Putting aside the connection Durant has with Magic GM and former Thunder executive Rob Hennigan, that seems like an awfully long time to wait.
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Thunder Notes: Redd, Ibaka, Durant, Harden

August 22nd, 2012 at 1:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier today, we heard that the Thunder may be one of a handful of teams with interest in Michael Redd. With James Harden, Thabo Sefolosha, and Daequan Cook at the two, the club doesn't have a pressing need for a player like Redd, but if he's willing to play for the minimum salary, adding another shooter to the mix certainly couldn't hurt. Here are a few more of today's updates out of Oklahoma City:

  • Serge Ibaka's extension is worth $49MM ($12.25MM annually), but that number could increase to $51.5MM based on Ibaka's performance. According to John Rohde of the Oklahoman, the $2.5MM in incentives are believed to relate to winning the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year award and earning future spots on the All-Defensive first team.
  • Kevin Durant participated in a Q&A with ESPN.com's Marc Stein that focused on his upcoming film Thunderstruck, but also touched on a few other topics. Durant told Stein that he was excited about Ibaka's extension, adding, "He easily could have said no, waited for next summer, played well this year and got more [money]. But he sacrificed for us and we appreciate him for that. He's the ultimate team player."
  • Asked by Stein about a potential extension for James Harden, Durant replied: "I haven't asked [Thunder GM] Sam [Presti] about anything and I haven't asked James about anything. I'm just going to let that take care of itself, be the best teammate I can be and hopefully by the time camp starts we have him locked up."
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Odds & Ends: Austin Rivers, Cooper, Stoudemire

August 21st, 2012 at 9:15pm CST by Ryan Raroque

John Reid of the Times-Picayune writes that Austin Rivers is on schedule to be fully healed in time for Hornets' training camp in October after undergoing surgery on his right ankle three weeks ago. The rookie joins a list of teammates, namely Xavier Henry and Robin Lopez, who are recovering from recent surgeries. Regardless, head coach Monty Williams looks to have all three ready by the time the regular season starts. With that aside, here are more noteworthy tidbits from around the Association: 

  • C.J. Miles elaborated more on the opportunity he has to expand his game with the Cavaliers, especially for a coach like Byron Scott, who believes that Miles has a lot of untapped potential (Jason Lloyd of Ohio.com reports). 
  • Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune tweets that former Timberwolves and Trail Blazers assistant Dean Cooper is headed to the Rockets to join Kevin McHale's coaching staff. 
  • Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Twitter link) mentions that Cavaliers GM Chris Grant is encouraged about Kelenna Azubuike, who looks like he's moving well and could be a contributor this season.
  • Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire told ESPN's Stephen A. Smith that he'll return to the court "stronger than ever" this upcoming season. 
  • 76ers GM Rod Thorn acknowledges heightened expectations and says that Philadelphia fans appear to be especially excited because of the acquisition of Andrew Bynum, according to Dei Lynam of CSN Philly. 
  • Jenni Carlson of NewsOK thinks that James Harden is better suited to thrive in a small market city with the Thunder rather than be potentially distracted in what she terms "hot spots."
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Odds & Ends: Paul, Harden, Cavs, Suns

August 21st, 2012 at 4:36pm CST by Luke Adams

The Clippers announced today in a press release that Chris Paul underwent successful surgery this morning to repair a torn ligament in his thumb. According to the team, Paul is expected to be sidelined for approximately eight weeks, which would put his return date in mid-October, about two weeks before the team's regular-season opener. Here are a few more Tuesday odds and ends from around the NBA:

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Odds & Ends: Casspi, Tolliver, Leonard, Blatche

August 19th, 2012 at 2:30pm CST by Sean Highkin

According to Fox's John Telich, the Cavaliers may buy out Omri Casspi's contract. (Twitter link) FoxSportsOhio.com's Sam Amico tweets that there have been rumors regarding Casspi's want to play overseas. 

Here's a rundown on some of the latest news and notes from around the NBA this weekend:

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Page On Mavs, Lakers, Bulls

August 18th, 2012 at 6:22pm CST by Sean Highkin

Derek Page of HoopsWorld conducted his weekly NBA chat Saturday, where he touched on several relevant topics, including the offseason moves and futures of the Mavs, Bulls, and Lakers, among other teams. Here are the highlights:

  • Page thinks it is unlikely that the Mavericks will keep O.J. Mayo beyond this season, because if he plays well, he will command a higher salary than the Mavs would like to give him.
  • He believes Antawn Jamison will be a better acquisition for the Lakers than Lamar Odom will be for the Clippers.
  • Page doesn't foresee any more moves for the Lakers, who appear to have a set roster.
  • It will be difficult for the Thunder to keep James Harden if he hits restricted free agency, writes Page.
  • Page is surprised Leandro Barbosa has not been signed yet, pointing to the 29-year-old as a possible value signing.
  • Page would like to see the present Bulls roster with a healthy Derrick Rose before weighing in on moves they should make.
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