Reigning NBA Sixth Man of the Year and former Oklahoma City Thunder forward James Harden says his former team barely gave him much time to consider their 4-year $54 million offer before being traded to the Houston Rockets, according to Yahoo! Sports.
"After everything we established - everything we had done - you give me an hour?" Harden told Yahoo! Sports on Monday afternoon. "This was one of the biggest decisions of my life. I wanted to go home and pray about it. It hurt me. It hurt."
Though the trade was a surprise and a disappointment to Harden, he believes he now has a chance to showcase his abilities as a initial scoring option for a team.
"I was there with talented guys in Oklahoma City, some All-Star guys, and I would've been in the back seat there - which I was fine with - but I wouldn't have gotten the chance to show how talented I really am," Harden said. "It's a different opportunity for me here."
Harden insists he's embraced the role of franchise player, of team builder, of the star responsible for setting the tone.
Since the trade, Harden's impact on the Rockets has been noticeable. In his first two games in a Rockets uniform Harden scored 37 and 45 points in back-to-back games that earned him Western Conference Player of the Week honors.
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