Kerrsed wrote:sunsfan88 wrote:....and OKC has two players (Ibaka and Harden) both can't be retained....
They can and they might. Seems Harden is talking about giving them a nice discount so they can all remain together. He really does value winning.
Nah man no way a 22 year old who just got done with his cheap rookie contract is gonna leave money on the table.
He hasn't earned the big $$$ yet and here's chance in doing so. As far as him talking about them remaining together, I'm sure he would prefer to take the max and stay in OKC rather than bolt for elsewhere...
It works like this: OKC can offer either Harden OR Ibaka the max, just not both.
So, Harden is trying to look humble/good by saying all these things to try to get Presti choose Harden over Ibaka. Plus right now, Harden may have a better public rep among fans than Ibaka simply because of that one statement in which he talks about them being a dynasty etc. And the way fans view Harden will also play a huge role in deciding who gets the extension for Presti.
Basically, Harden is just trying to suck up to Presti. And he has every right to do it because every player does it but we'll have to wait and see if it actually works.