Even before tonight Harden was still the 3rd or 4th best SG in basketball. Never had an issue with him wanting max money.
But after tonight it makes outright characterizations of Harden as nothing more than a talented reserve player who averaged less than 18 ppg seem kind of silly.
TP. Exactly.
As Kobe, D-Wade, and Manu age, he has a pretty good chance of being the best shooting guard in basketball. At worst, he will be the 3rd or 4th best shooting guard in basketball for the length of his contract. Worth the max in my eyes.
Houston isn't going broke, despite what the OP may think. They took in 18 million in operating income last year despite higher salary costs. Their salaries are actually lower this year (goodbye Kevin Martin, Kyle Lowry, Samuel Dalembert, Goran Dragic, etc...) Houston has room for another max deal this offseason! They've cut salary! Houston profited last year, they'll profit this year. What's the problem again?