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Cha Ching:Adidas makes $200M bid to sign Rockets star James Harden..
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holfresh
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8/3/2015  12:33 PM
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/13369219/adidas-makes-200m-bid-sign-houston-rockets-star-james-harden

Adidas has made a big play for the biggest basketball sneaker free agent of the summer of 2015.

The company has submitted a bid of $200 million over 13 years to sign Houston Rockets guard James Harden, sources told ESPN.com. Nike, whose deal with Harden recently expired, has until the end of next week to match the deal or lose him.

A $200 million offer is huge, considering it represents half of what the brand paid for 11 seasons as the NBA's official uniform supplier. Earlier this year, Adidas announced that it would not fight to renew that deal, which will see its competitor Nike take over after the 2016-17 season.

With incentives, if the deal is consummated, Harden could very well make more from Adidas in the coming years than the Rockets. Harden signed an $80 million contract extension with Houston in 2012 that goes through the 2017-18 season.
Adidas has submitted a bid of $200 million over 13 years to sign Houston Rockets guard James Harden, sources told ESPN.com. Scott Halleran/Getty Images

Despite having the NBA deal, Adidas has slipped in recent years due to a lack of individual basketball stars. In 2012, the company signed a massive 14-year deal with Derrick Rose, only to see him miss plenty of action because of knee injuries. Its other star is Damian Lillard, whose Portland Trail Blazers aren't really showing much promise. Endorser John Wall shows plenty of flash, but his first signature Adidas line fell relatively flat this year.

With Stephen Curry locked up by Under Armour and Kevin Durant choosing to stick with Nike last season, Harden is the only veteran whom Adidas could poach -- even if it means overpaying. This past year, Adidas fell to the No. 3 best-selling apparel brand in the United States, after being passed by Under Armour.

Harden doesn't have a flashy game, per se, but he certainly is in the upper echelon of marketable stars. His beard speaks for itself, as does his natural sense of fashion. That is big for Adidas, who sells plenty of Originals and could always use a boost to its more expensive Y-3 line.

There's also reality star-type placement, as there's apparently a budding relationship between the Rockets star and Khloe Kardashian. There's an even greater connection with Adidas as rap star Kanye West, who is married to Khloe's sister Kim, moved his Yeezy line from Nike to Adidas last year.

There's also international hope for Harden, as the Rockets already are very popular in China thanks to former player Yao Ming. Sources say part of what Adidas is willing to pay has to do with the potential for the masses to embrace Harden on an even greater scale if the Rockets can make more of a splash in the playoffs in the coming years.

Harden hasn't yet had a signature shoe, but the Nike Hyperchase, which was the shoe that he was most attributed to this past season, sold well certainly because of his wearing of them. In most circumstances, Nike wouldn't match this number from Adidas, but it's said things are hypersensitive inside corporate headquarters after the brand not only gave up Curry to Under Armour -- after not matching an offer for less than $4 million a year -- but also missed at golfer Jordan Spieth, who went with Under Armour as well.

Adidas is under new leadership, which is eager to put its stamp on a turnaround. Eric Liedtke recently took over to lead global branding for Adidas, as longtime executive Erich Stamminger left in the midst of the company being pressured to bolster its business in North America.

The company hasn't been afraid to pay huge dollars to get big properties in sports. Its deal with Manchester United -- the largest uniform sponsorship in sports, guaranteeing the team $128 million a year for 10 years -- officially kicked off on Saturday. But money doesn't always help win deals. Sources said Adidas offered the most money to the University of Michigan to try to keep its deal with the school, but the Wolverines still chose to move on with Nike after this season. In Harden's deal, however, Adidas has to win if Nike can't match the deal offered.

As the basketball shoe business has skyrocketed in recent years, Adidas has mostly been a player on the sideline. Nike and its Jordan-owned brand make up 90 percent of basketball shoes sold in the U.S., while Adidas has less than 5 percent market share.

From April through June, Harden had the seventh-best selling jersey in the NBA, finishing ahead of the likes of Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

AUTOADVERT
CrushAlot
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USA
8/3/2015  12:34 PM
^^^Saw that Nike might match. Also, someone isn't going to miss any all star games no matter what.
I'm tired,I'm tired, I'm so tired right now......Kristaps Porzingis 1/3/18
mreinman
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8/3/2015  12:55 PM
all for being a ****ty flopper
so here is what phil is thinking ....
TPercy
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8/3/2015  12:56 PM
Addidas shoes are fugly
The Future is Bright!
holfresh
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8/3/2015  1:03 PM
mreinman wrote:all for being a ****ty flopper

They are desperate..

mreinman
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8/3/2015  1:21 PM
holfresh wrote:
mreinman wrote:all for being a ****ty flopper

They are desperate..

no. I think that you are desperate to not waiver. Kinda babyish, no? Sometimes its ok to teach the kids that its ok to have been wrong.

so here is what phil is thinking ....
holfresh
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8/3/2015  1:38 PM
mreinman wrote:
holfresh wrote:
mreinman wrote:all for being a ****ty flopper

They are desperate..

no. I think that you are desperate to not waiver. Kinda babyish, no? Sometimes its ok to teach the kids that its ok to have been wrong.


With Stephen Curry locked up by Under Armour and Kevin Durant choosing to stick with Nike last season, Harden is the only veteran whom Adidas could poach -- even if it means overpaying. This past year, Adidas fell to the No. 3 best-selling apparel brand in the United States, after being passed by Under Armour.
mreinman
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8/3/2015  1:58 PM
holfresh wrote:
mreinman wrote:
holfresh wrote:
mreinman wrote:all for being a ****ty flopper

They are desperate..

no. I think that you are desperate to not waiver. Kinda babyish, no? Sometimes its ok to teach the kids that its ok to have been wrong.


With Stephen Curry locked up by Under Armour and Kevin Durant choosing to stick with Nike last season, Harden is the only veteran whom Adidas could poach -- even if it means overpaying. This past year, Adidas fell to the No. 3 best-selling apparel brand in the United States, after being passed by Under Armour.

Couldn't they have gone after DHow? Can't get bigger and better than this finalist.

so here is what phil is thinking ....
WaltLongmire
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8/3/2015  2:47 PM
There's also reality star-type placement, as there's apparently a budding relationship between the Rockets star and Khloe Kardashian.

This is what stuck out when I read the piece.


How does a Daryl Morey look at this?

Gets his team and star mentioned in the entertainment section, and she'll be a nice court side WAG, but I have to wonder if this type of notoriety will help Harden keep his mind of basketball.

Harden is going to have to be more aware of proper beard hygiene, though.

EnySpree: Can we agree to agree not to mention Phil Jackson and triangle for the rest of our lives?
Swishfm3
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8/3/2015  7:26 PM
TPercy wrote:Addidas shoes are fugly

They make terrible Basketball shoes.

Cha Ching:Adidas makes $200M bid to sign Rockets star James Harden..

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