On October 28, it was destined to be an unusual day for the Rockets and Rockets fans, when ESPN suddenly broke the news that the Thunder and the Rockets reached a six-man trade just before the start of the regular season, and the Thunder sent Harden, Cole Aldridge, Lazar Hayward and DaQuan Cook to the Rockets in exchange for Martin, rookie Jeremy Lamb and a future draft pick.

Wojnarowski, a well-known American basketball reporter, also revealed on Witt that Harden has reached an agreement with the Rockets on a contract extension, and the two sides will sign a five-year contract worth $80 million before the start of the regular season.

Immediately at noon that day, the Houston Rockets immediately held a press conference to confirm the authenticity of the news.

Harden was traded by the Thunder because the two sides are at an impasse over contract extension negotiations, with Harden wanting a four-year, $60 million max contract, and the Thunder hoping to reduce millions of dollars.

Unable to reach an agreement, the Thunder quickly traded Harden to the Rockets, both because they could get a good return and because the Rockets could offer Harden the salary cap he wanted.

Harden, who joined the Thunder in 2009 as a probe, averaged 16.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game last season at the age of 23, helping the team reach the Finals and being named Sixth Man of the Year.

Harden's ability and potential are undoubted, and Harden was also praised as a "cornerstone" player by Rockets general manager Morey at the press conference, and the team's expectations for the beard can be seen from the contract given by the Rockets.

If Harden successfully re-signs the Rockets, he will become the fourth player in the class of '09 to receive a contract extension, after Griffin, Lawson and Curry.

But the difference is that Lawson and Curry's contracts are not the maximum salary, while Harden and Griffin are both maximum salaries, and the contract period is the maximum time limit stipulated in the new collective bargaining agreement is 5 years, but Griffin got a higher 5-year $95 million contract with the Rose clause, but in the eyes of the Clippers and Rockets, Griffin and Harden are already the most relied on players for their respective teams in the future.

Then David Aldridge of the NBA's official website wrote a long article: Sam Plesty finally pressed the trade button, James Harden was sent away, and in the past three years, he has tried his best to maintain the stability of the Thunder lineup, and this time he is really forced to do so.

"I trust Sam" in recent years, Kevin Durant has always said this, but losing Harden, no matter who he regains, is futile, because by any standard, Harden is the top 20 or even top 10 offensive players in the league today.

Of course, it's hard to say how playing alongside Durant and Westbrook has affected Harden's stats, but Harden has also won the league's Sixth Man of the Year award and proved himself with the U.S. men's basketball team to win an Olympic gold medal.

Durant trusts Plesty what Tim Duncan trusts Greg Popovich, and here's the facts: Over the past three years, the Thunder have kept Durant, Westbrook, coach Scott Brooks, Kendrick Perkins, Nick Collison — Serge Ibaka in August of this year, owner Clay Bennett doesn't have a lot of money and he doesn't want to pay taxes.

The new collective bargaining agreement allows the team to set a "specific player" who can be extended for five years after the expiration of his rookie contract, but the Thunder, who have set Westbrook as a "specific player", can only offer Harden a four-year contract, and the Thunder know that if they delay until the Halloween deadline, they will get nothing.

If the transaction is delayed until February next year, what if there are twists and turns? It is even more impossible for the Thunder to wait until next summer, because at that time, five or six teams such as the Suns, Mavericks, and Pistons can make an offer to Harden, and it will not work to sign first and then trade, because the Thunder does not want to pay additional salaries, and Harden will not want to go to a team that empties the roster in order to get him, so the trade has become what we see.

As for the Rockets, they are not under pressure to win a championship, they just want to trade for the best player, which is the goal of general manager Darryl Morey throughout the summer, and even if Harden is re-signed for five years, the Rockets still have a lot of salary space.

In fact, in the opinion of Rockets general manager Morey, the Rockets also paid a lot to get Harden, and the trade chips they gave the Thunder included Kevin Martin, who is extremely lethal on the offensive end, and a future first-round pick.

"We've been very aggressive in our fight for Harden," Morey said, "and we've given up a lot, and it's really unlikely that a top player like Harden will be sent away by the team we're on, so we take it when we see an opportunity."

The Houston Chronicle then followed up with news that James Harden, who recently joined the Rockets through a trade, has agreed to a contract extension with the team, and the new contract agreed between the two sides is a five-year salary cap of $80 million, so that Harden will not become a restricted free agent next summer.

Harden's salary this season is $5.82 million, and the contract will take effect at the beginning of the 2013-2014 season, and Harden will also represent the Rockets in the opening game of the season today, and Harden said in an interview that he has never worried about his contract.

"I'm trying not to get distracted by my contract issues, even when I'm still with the Thunder, I'm just focused on getting better and playing better, my focus is always on the court, trying to play well, I know that the contract issues will be resolved sooner or later, and I'm ready for the new season," said Harden, a reporter from Houston.

Just before the start of the regular season, the Rockets and the Thunder completed a trade, and after acquiring Harden, Rockets general manager Morey also made no secret of the fact that they would offer Harden a contract with a maximum salary.

"Anytime you want to get a young All-Star caliber player, it's very difficult," Rockets general manager Morey said excitedly to reporters interviewed, "Normally, you can only get it through the draft...... Obviously, it's great to get a player who has NBA Finals experience, and he also has experience that we don't have, and now we have Harden, one of the big reasons why the Harden Thunder made it to the Finals last season."

"We've got to have a player with a solid foundation," Rockets general manager Morey said, "Harden is like that, it's as simple as that, now we need to add other players, or make a qualitative leap forward for someone on the roster today, in short, in a league like this, we need two All-Stars, and even though that day hasn't come yet, Harden has changed the whole situation."

As Morey said, the Rockets have always been eager to bring in top stars, and they have struggled to compete for Dwight Howard, but the latter simply doesn't like the basketball market in which the Rockets are located, so another way out for Morey is to attract stars by improving the team.

Morey thinks there will be more stars who are more willing to join the Rockets because of Harden's arrival, "Players in the league will say, 'I want to be teammates with him,'" Morey said in the trade press conference, "Asik's style of play will be liked by other players, and so will Jeremy Lin, and Harden can really bring a group of young core players together."

The Rockets have made a lot of moves this offseason, but Morey said they still have room and conditions to strengthen, "We have the cap salary cap" Morey kept telling the media, "It's going to be for the right players at the right time."

"We're very excited about this deal," Rockets owner Alexander said in a statement, "and while there is some reluctance to send players like Martin and Lamb, this deal opens up more opportunities for the future of the Rockets."

Starting next season, Harden's salary will be the highest salary the Rockets have offered since Yao Ming retired, and it will also be the second-highest salary in the history of the Rockets.

In September 2002, Francis signed a six-year, $85 million contract with the Rockets, the largest contract ever offered by the Rockets.

In the first three seasons for the Rockets, Francis averaged 18+6+6 all-around data per game, and his performance gave the Rockets confidence, for which the Rockets finally threw out a six-year $85 million fat contract, but unfortunately, only one year after Francis's contract was fulfilled, he was sent to the Magic because of the conflict with coach Jeff Van Gundy and the incompatibility with the team's tactical play.

The third-highest salary in the history of the Rockets went to Yao Ming from China, who signed a five-year contract worth $75 million with the Rockets in September 2005.

Although the rookie season was average, and the best rookie was taken away by Xiao Si, but in the next two seasons, Yao Ming's average data per game was maintained at the level of 18+8+2, and the Rockets threw him a $75 million contract extension, Yao Ming's performance in the next four seasons is definitely worthy of his value, scoring 20+ points in three consecutive seasons, including double-doubles in rebounds in two seasons, if not a damn injury......

The Rockets' big trade put the Rockets in the media spotlight, but after the trade, the Rockets regained their former calm.

Ahead of the regular season, the Rockets held an open training session with fans at the Toyota Center.

Harden, along with Aldridge and Hayward, made some surprise appearances at the entrance to the open practice, while the three new signings were warmly welcomed by the more than 1,000 Houston fans in attendance.

Harden politely had a brief exchange with Rockets head coach McHale before walking over to the Rockets players.

Surprisingly, Harden only nodded slightly to Jeremy Lin, Asik and others who came forward, but went straight to the tall and strong.

"Remember what I told you?" Harden said to Gao Dazhuang in a condescending tone.

As soon as Harden's words came out, the atmosphere at the scene suddenly fell into an awkwardness, and Patterson hurriedly stood beside Gao Dazhuang, "Of course I remember" but Gao Dazhuang responded without showing weakness.

"Haha, that's just a joke, I'm glad we were teammates," Harden said with a smile on his face.

"Me too" Gao Dazhuang couldn't figure out Harden's true intentions for a while, but he reached out and didn't hit the smiling person, and Gao Dazhuang could only respond with a smile.

"Let's get the Rockets off together," Harden stretched out his hand in a very atmospheric manner.

In the resentful eyes of Jeremy Lin and Asik, the team's "boss" Harden and the "rookie" tall and strong hands were tightly clasped together.