Hoops Nation

Predictably, the always-cagey Presti didn’t reveal anything regarding possible contract extensions for Harden and Ibaka, two soon-to-be fourth-year players who would become restricted free agents next summer if they don’t agree to new deals by Oct. 31. But in Harden’s case, the Sixth Man Award winner was confident his future would be with the Thunder when we spoke at Team USA’s Las Vegas training camp in early July.

“I’m pretty, a hundred percent, I’m pretty sure that I’m going to be in Oklahoma City,” Harden said with a slight stutter. “I’ll let my agent and Mr. Presti and [Thunder owner Clay] Bennett discuss all that, so I’ll let them handle that and stay out of it for right now and worry about the USA Olympics.”

When asked if he was at all enamored with the idea of being a more featured player elsewhere, Harden said, “I love winning. We have some great guys over here, something special, something I don’t think any other team in the NBA has – young guys who got drafted basically together, year after year after year. We’ve got something special, so I’m focused on what we have and trying to win a championship with these guys.”

(Via SI)