James Harden on Russell Westbrook Joining Rockets: 'I Trust Him; He Trusts Me'
When the Rockets run out with two former MVPs next season, James Harden has faith they will play well together, according to what he told Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
Harden said he is "excited" and knows Russell Westbrook is too, as he gets to start a "new chapter" in his career in his first season in a different uniform.
"We welcome him with open arms. It's going to work," Harden said.
Houston acquired Westbrook for Chris Paul and draft picks earlier this month to pair the former Oklahoma City teammates together once again.
But in addition to the three years the two were teammates with the Thunder, Harden and Westbrook have built chemistry with one another since they were kids and played basketball together at the Boys and Girls Club in Los Angeles.
"It works," Harden said. "It's that trust factor. I trust him; he trusts me. And with the group that we already have and the things we already accomplished, it should be an easy transition for him to be incorporated right in and things are going to go.
"That's my boy right there, since I was like 10 or 11 years old," Harden added. "Obviously, we were teammates for [three] years. Now, we're at different stages of our careers. I'm excited for the opportunity. I hear a lot of negative things: you can't, he can't, they can't. But we'll figure it out. I'm excited for the opportunity. I know the rest of the organization is. It's time."
On Friday, Harden announced he was skipping the FIBA World Cup to spend more time getting ready for this next season.
Harden was speaking at an event hosted by Adidas and James Harden ProCamp in which they were donating shoes and other sporting goods to children from the Greater Houston Police Activities League.
At the same event, he also fielded a question from a young fan who was curious about why Harden travels on his signature step-back jumper.
And Harden was just as confident he doesn't violate the rules as he was that the partnership with Westbrook will work out.
"When you have talent like that, it works itself out," Harden said. "You communicate. You go out there and compete possession by possession. You figure things out. Throughout the course of the season, you figure things out. That's just what it is. When you have talent, you have guys with IQ, you have guys willing to sacrifice, it always works itself out."
