Larry Brown Sports

James Harden posted a note to his Instagram account on Monday that said he had been traded to the Hornets. Royce Young of DailyThunder.com snagged a screenshot of the message and shared it on Twitter:

Young says Harden deleted the message, but not before the above screenshot was captured.

So what do you make of this? Was Harden hacked? Was he pulling a Reggie Bush?

The team says he was not traded, and there is some speculation that he may have been duped by a trade reported by a phony Twitter account.

Even if this was the result of falling for a phony Twitter report — and it wouldn’t be the first time someone feel for a fake report — it could just be a foreshadowing of the future. Harden is set to make $5.2 million next season and the team extended him a qualifying offer for the following season. He’ll likely be offered a max deal as a restricted free agent, putting the Thunder in a difficult position. It’s commonly believed that Oklahoma City won’t be able to keep Harden and Serge Ibaka after signing Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook to long-term deals, so they’ll have to be creative about their future. That could include trading one of their stars.

There will be no shortage of interest in James Harden’s services if he becomes a free agent after next season. The NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year could go to of number of teams across the league and be one of their go-to guys and possibly their best player. In Oklahoma City, Harden has a very specific role. Without him playing that role, the Thunder would not have made it to the NBA Finals this season. According to Harden, it’s a role he is comfortable with and hopes to remain in for years to come.

“I’m focused on several other things right now,” Harden said according to ESPN.com. “But when the time is (right), they’ll figure (out a contract extension) and it’ll be done. This team is like a family. Like, we’re really brothers. We hang out most of the time every single day. You won’t find any other team like this. I love it here.”

With Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook already two of the league’s biggest stars and both only 23 years old, you have to imagine this team is just getting started. If Harden wants to continue to ride it out, no one would blame him. He should, however, be careful about setting the bar too high.

“This is something special here,” Harden said. “A dynasty is being built here. So we’re winning, we’re having fun and we’re brothers. The other stuff, you can’t buy it.”

While he is technically a “sixth man,” Harden averaged 16.1 points per game and over 31 minutes in both the regular season and postseason. He is hardly a “bench player” in Oklahoma City and his beard is beyond famous around the area. As for the dynasty talk, the Thunder could very well be headed in that direction. But until they have actually won something, Harden should keep that word in the holster.

H/T Black Sports Online
Photo credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

James Harden played poorly in Oklahoma City’s loss to the Heat in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Sunday, and rival Metta World Peace was on Twitter antagonizing him. Keep in mind Metta tweeted that Harden would probably hit a “huge shot” moments after he insulted him via Twitter, but it was the following tweet that people are going to be talking about.

No brain All beard

— Metta WorldPeace (@MettaWorldPeace) June 18, 2012

World Peace sent that tweet in the final minute of the game when Harden committed a foul on LeBron James. With Oklahoma City trailing by three, the foul put LeBron at the free throw line where he hit one of two and gave the Heat a four-point lead. Metta is right about it not being a smart play. Harden also went 2-for-10 from the field including 0-for-4 from beyond the arc. Game 3 was hardly memorable for the man whose beard has become more than famous.

The irony here is that if Harden has lost some brain cells, it’s probably World Peace’s fault. Harden may not be thinking as clearly as he used to since he was cranked in the head with an elbow back in April. The Heat now lead the Finals 2-1, and Harden’s lousy Game 3 was a big reason why. That being said, World Peace is still the one watching from home on the couch.

Photo credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

At some point we’re going to hit our James Harden beard saturation point, but we’re not quite there yet. We’ve seen his beard made into a cake, and put on the front of a building in OKC. Now we’re seeing it as a fruit salad made of pineapple, blueberries, blackberries, kiwi, strawberry, and an orange slice. I don’t know about you, but I certainly see the resemblance.

Via Darren Rovell

James Harden may be a sixth man, but he is by no means a forgotten part of Oklahoma City’s fantastic season. On almost any other roster, Harden would be a starter. He has hit clutch shot after clutch shot all season for the Thunder — most recently when he buried a dagger down the stretch in Game 5 to put the Spurs away and turn the momentum of the Western Conference finals. That shot apparently elevated him to building status.

Just a couple of weeks ago, Harden was immortalized (until eaten) when someone decided it was a good idea to turn him into a dessert. As Darren Rovell shared with us on Twitter Wednesday, a business in Oklahoma City decided took it a step further and turned their entire entrance into a shrine to the beard and mohawk that have become a staple of the Thunder’s success this season. If Robert Griffin thought this sandwich was a compliment, he now realizes he hasn’t quite achieved the same celebrity status as Big Game James.

H/T @robshahan

Manu Ginobili already has a reputation for being a well known flopper. James Harden is an emerging flop artist. So when the two collided in the fourth quarter of Game 1 between the Spurs and Thunder on Sunday night, they both went down as if a grenade had gone off in the area.

Ginobili got the foul call, so I guess his veteran reputation helped in the situation. He also was the best player in the game, going for 26 points on 9-14 shooting. It’s pretty obvious he’s what the Spurs were missing when they lost to the Grizzlies in the first round last year.

Chest bump Black Sports Online

You know how we know James Harden has officially made it? Is it because he was given the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award for the 2011-2012 season and has helped lead the Thunder to the Western Conference finals? That helps, but there’s more to it than that. As GiANT Impact CEO Jeremie Kubicek showed us on Twitter Tuesday night, Harden has been made into a cake by the folks at Homeland Stores.

As far as honorary cakes are concerned, this is one of the most detailed we’ve ever seen. Athletes have been made into cakes before, but they usually consist of a two-dimensional picture or portrait of the athlete on top. As you can see, this is Harden’s entire head (beard included) in cake form. This is more in line with the Robert Griffin III sandwich than anything else we’ve witnessed. Perhaps food artists are just that much more talented these days.

H/T Darren Rovell via Ball Don’t Lie
Photo credit: Homeland Stores