NBA spending wows players

LAS VEGAS — James Harden completed his work at USA Basketball’s national team minicamp, sat in a courtside chair and began to put together his assessment of what happened around the NBA this summer.

He did not need long to formulate his thoughts.

“Nothing that happens in the NBA surprises me anymore,” the league’s MVP and Houston star said.

Summer isn’t over, but in the NBA spending sense, it’s winding down. About $2 billion in deals have been made in the last four weeks, not to mention a few trades. But with the biggest names who were available in free agency staying put for the most part, most of the players who were in Las Vegas for the national team camp this week seemed to agree with Harden.

“The league is definitely shaken-up a little bit, but that’s how it is,” Charlotte guard Kemba Walker said. “That’s the name of the game. That’s the business. You’re going to see guys go from team to team. It’s just forcing everyone to step their games up.”

Here’s proof of that: Minicamp was officially over, most players had left to go resume their summers, and a few players, including Phoenix’s Devin Booker and Oklahoma City’s Paul George, were among the last on the floor working out.

They were in a wild series of 1-on-1 games against Golden State’s Kevin Durant, among others. Booker signed a $158 million extension earlier this month, George signed a deal to remain with the Thunder for $136 million. And there they were, trying to beat Durant, just like their teams will be trying to beat Durant’s two-time defending champion team in a few months.

“For the most part the players have kind of dictated the movement across the league,” Booker said.