One of the bigger surprises of free agency was James Harden‘s $118 million contract renegotiation with the Houston Rockets. It was a deal that allowed him to take advantage of the booming cap now instead of waiting to cash-in when he hits free agency in two years. It also ensures that he’ll remain with the team until at least 2019.
In the wake of former teammate Kevin Durant’s bombshell announcement that he was leaving the Thunder to join the Warriors, Harden’s renewed deal doubles as an expression of his commitment to his incumbent franchise, despite a disappointing season that ended in a first-round playoff exit and the unceremonious departure of star teammate Dwight Howard.
On Monday, the Rockets’ Twitter account posted an open letter by Harden reiterating that aforementioned commitment to bring Houston another championship.
https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/752588411475668993
That last part about the Rockets not being a “super-team” could be read as just a general acknowledgment of the fans’ frustration at the organization for not being able to land any of their high-profile free agent targets this summer, along with the reassurance that the current roster will fight hard and work together and all that good stuff.
But could you also read it as a veiled jab at Durant and the Warriors, arguably the most super of all the super teams ever assembled? After all, Harden has eschewed free agency for the foreseeable future despite all of the Rockets’ organizational upheaval the past year, a stark contrast to Durant’s departure for greener pastures this summer.
If that’s the case, it’s admittedly pretty innocuous, little more than a rhetorical maneuver designed to inspire fans and teammates alike by positioning the Rockets as an underdog group that prioritizes loyalty and substance over flash. But that level of self-righteousness would be more than a little disingenuous.
It’s not like the Rockets haven’t done everything in their power to assemble a super team. They’ve targeted every big-name free agent on the market the past several summers. They’ve just managed to come up short in almost every instance, except in the case of Dwight Howard, and look how that turned out.
When things like that happen, you have to try and change the narrative, and if you can get a subtle dig in at the competition, that just counts for bonus points.
