James Harden's Oklahoma City Thunder Contract Must Be Extended

After locking up Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook to long-term deals, the Oklahoma City Thunder need to focus on providing James Harden with a contract extension as well.

According to ESPN, Harden expects to stay in Oklahoma City. He likes the family atmosphere the team has and thinks the squad could form a dynasty. Now it is up to the organization to get it done.

There are a few tough personnel decisions that general manager Sam Presti must make in the upcoming year. After deciding what to do with coach Scott Brooks, Presti must find a way to fit all of his talented players under the salary cap.

With two superstars already on the books for a few years, the toughest job will be to keep both Harden and Serge Ibaka. While Harden struggled in the final round against the Miami Heat, he should be the first priority for this team.

The Sixth Man of the Year was a big reason for the team's success this season as the third-leading scorer behind Durant and Westbrook. His 16.8 points per game were vital on a team without many scoring threats, and he was more efficient in getting his points than Westbrook.

Harden was a dominant force off the bench for the entire season until the NBA Finals. He averaged only 12.4 points per game against the Heat and simply looked out of place throughout the round. He was tentative with the ball and was part of the reason the team lost in five games.

However, he still provided more production in a bad series than most of his other teammates. He also showed how much the team suffers when it does not receive his scoring output.

It is important not to think of James Harden as simply a bench player. Between his playing time and production, he should be considered only as the third-best player on one of the best teams in the league.

The Thunder should know how important he is to the future and how much of a mistake it would be to let him go to another team. They need to lock him up now to provide peace of mind for everyone involved.