When the Brooklyn Nets completed the trade that landed them 9-time All-Star James Harden last season it made them the championship favorites. The dynamic duo of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant alone was enough to compete for a championship in the minds of many. Incorporating Harden into that mix would make them nearly unstoppable. Kyrie was not with the team during Harden’s Nets debut for an undisclosed reason that had held him out for several games. This prompted a reporter to ask Harden what the Nets’ potential would be once the ‘big 3’ took the court together. And thus, the term ‘scary hours’ was born.
“I’m so excited for Ky to get back,” Harden said after his debut against the Orlando Magic per Bleacher Report. “He’s a key piece to what we’re trying to do. The chemistry, the sooner we can build that, the sooner we can be on the court together, it’s going to be scary hours.”
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James Harden Says Nets Will Be ‘Even Scarier’ This Season
The Nets fell short of their goal of a championship last season. While the Milwaukee Bucks have earned the right to be called defending NBA champions, the injuries to Kyrie and Harden in their second-round series changed the course of history. This year, the Nets are back, and they are better which means the hours will get even scarier according to Harden.
“Oh, yea for sure. It’s even scarier, it’s even scarier man. Just because of some of the pieces that we added to this team,” Harden said to reporters during Nets media day via SNY.
“You know where there are times throughout the course of the game you know you got guys that have been battle-tested that you can trust that you can go to war with. Not saying that we didn’t have that last year, but I think for us it’s even more confidence. Now we just got to instill those principles and that mindset in training camp and kind of build on that every single day. You know we need to use this preseason like regular-season games and approach it like that because we are behind.”
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Harden on Signing Extension: ‘It’s Not About the Money’
Harden is eligible to sign a 3-year $161.1 million extension with the Nets this season. Many expected him to be inked to remain with the Nets long term before the start of training camp. While many players would be eager to sign such a lucrative deal if they were in Harden’s position that is not the route that the All-Star guard wants to take. It’s not just about the money for Harden but rather making sure that everything is done the right way.
“It’s not about the money to me,” Harden said to reporters per NetsDaily. “I’ve been on enough teams where we fell short, so my mindset and my goal is to make sure we’re able to build and continue to build this team to be able to compete and contend for multiple, multiple years at the highest level. It’s not about the money. You win a championship in New York the money will come.”
Harden has played with some of the NBA’s best talents including Russell Westbrook, Dwight Howard, and Chris Paul. But this is without a doubt the best team that he has played on. Harden is one of the most decorated superstars in NBA history, but he has yet to capture that elusive first championship. This season might be the best opportunity for him to do it.
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