Presti Follows Through On Man-Crush, Takes Harden

Sam Presti made it very well known over the past few days that he really, REALLY liked James Harden.

Last night, he got his wish.

The Oklahoma City Thunder, picking 3rd after the Clippers predictably selected Blake Griffin and Memphis took UConn center Hasheem Thabeet, took the Sun Devil standout.

Harden is the highest Devil taken since Joe Caldwell was the 2nd overal pick of the Detroit Pistons in 1964 (and was actually the first ASU player ever selected). He’s the Sun Devils’ first lottery pick since Ike Diogu went 9th to the Golden State Warriors four years ago.

It will definitely be interesting to see how quickly James acclimates himself to the Thunder. In my opinion, Harden will become the additional perimeter scorere that Oklahoma City desperately needs to compliment Kevin Durant and the rest of the Thunder’s young corps.

I was a bit taken aback by some of the mock drafts, analysts and websites that claim Harden isn’t a a player who gives a consistent effort. Not to be a homer, but that was always the least of my concern. James doesn’t want to do anything but win. Those might be at a premium during his first year in OKC, but I don’t think there’s any reason to knock his effort level. He certainly had games in which he didn’t perform to his utmost abilities (see: Temple and Syracuse) but I’d never chalk that up to him not giving it his all.

The one discouraging about the entire thing last night, however, was that suit. It’s obvious that Jeff Pendergraph and his talk of linen suits automatically made him the trendsetter for last year’s team. That khaki-on-khaki getup made Samaki Walker look like a saint. However, just like we know about James, the bow tie screamed confidence.

Chris Silva from NBA.com has a cool article worth reading about how Harden wants to quickly fit in with his new teammates.

I’m thrilled for James (and Jeff Pendergraph, who is getting his own article later today) and really hope he finds success in OKC.

And if all else fails, he and Blake Griffin can go into the TV business together.

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