Harden confident new pairing will work
Longtime relations with Westbrook reason for optimism about season
The adjustment, James Harden said, will be easy. He was so confident he and Russell Westbrook will mesh in the retooled Rockets backcourt, he said there will be no adjustments to be made.
Still, he told Gregg Popovich, the coach of the USA Basketball national team, that he will not participate in training camp next month in Las Vegas or play in the FIBA World Cup in China so he can prepare for the Rockets’ season.
Speaking at an Adidas and James Harden ProCamp event Friday at Academy Sports and Outdoors to donate shoes and other sporting goods to children from the Greater Houston Police Activities League, Harden cited the changes the Rockets have made since the season.
But the Rockets return nearly all of last season’s rotation, with the notable exception of the trade of Chris Paul for Westbrook, Harden’s childhood friend and former Thunder teammate.
“I’m excited,” Harden said. “It’s a new chapter, but I know he’s excited. He’s been in Oklahoma City for 11 years so it’s a new chapter for him. We welcome him with open arms. It’s going to work.”
Harden was so confident about how Westbrook would fit, when asked about adjustments he or Westbrook would need to make he said: “None. None. None. We played with each other in the NBA and the (2012) Olympics and all that.
“When you have talent like that, it works itself out. You communicate. You go out there and compete possession by possession. You figure things out. Throughout the course of the sea
son, you figure things out. That’s just what it is. When you have talent, you have guys with IQ, you have guys willing to sacrifice, it always works itself out.”
Coach Mike D’Antoni said this week that he believes the determination of his stars and former MVPs to work together would allow them to make any adjustments needed during the season, much as he had predicted the successful pairing of Harden and Paul. He cited the way players fit into roles with USA Basketball, as when he was an assistant coach and Harden and Westbrook were teammates.
Harden cited a friendship that goes back to the Boys and Girls Club days in Los Angeles, telling an 11-year-old among the children gathered at the event that he and Westbrook have been friends since they were his age.
“It works,” Harden said. “It’s that trust factor. I trust him; he trusts me. And with the group that we already have and the things we already accomplished, it should be an easy transition for him to be incorporated right in and things are going to go.”
Harden showed he was aware of the questions about meshing his style with Westbrook’s when asked about the pairing by one of the campers to participate in Harden’s camp over the weekend. But he was also unconcerned.
“That’s my boy right there, since I was like 10 or 11 years old,” Harden said. “Obviously, we were teammates for (three) years. Now, we’re at different stages of our careers. I’m excited for the opportunity. I hear a lot of negative things: you can’t, he can’t, they can’t. But we’ll figure it out. I’m excited for the opportunity. I know the rest of the organization is. It’s time.”
Westbrook is the third superstar added since the Rockets acquired Harden from Oklahoma City in 2012 with Harden instrumental in luring all three, though Paul and Westbrook came to the Rockets in trades, as opposed to the free-agent signing of Dwight Howard.
But Harden has never been a free agent, twice signing contract extensions well before his contracts were up and avoiding the sort of player transition whirlwind that shook the NBA this month.
“This is home for me,” said Harden, who recently returned from a promotional tour in Asia and Europe and told the kids gathered that he is going through two-a-day workouts. “Whether it’s giving back to the community like we’re here today or my James Town weekend that’s coming up next month, just trying to put my staple in every aspect. The fans have given me the opportunity, the Rockets have given me the opportunity to be here in the place that I call home.
“I’ve been fortunate to be here in Houston, this is my eighth year This organization has shown me a tremendous amount of love. I never had to worry about free agency or doing anything like that. I’m excited, like every other year. I’m excited for what we have in that locker room. New coaching pieces. We’re ready to get this ball rolling.”