James Harden Comments on Rockets, Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon

Despite a disappointing 2015-16 campaign, James Harden hasn't wavered regarding his belief the Houston Rockets are headed in the right direction.   

The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski was among the first to report Harden signed a four-year, $118 million extension with the team on July 9. In an interview with ESPN.com's Calvin Watkins released Tuesday, the four-time All-Star discussed his motivation for staying in Houston.

"You just feel it sometimes. You got that feeling where everything feels comfortable," he said. "You feel love. You feel like people want you to be here, and that feeling right there outweighs everything. The ultimate decision was to stay and make sure we get it done."

Harden also talked about his new contract with NBA TV's Jared Greenberg during a Rockets summer-league game:

Not only is Harden the Rockets' best player, but he's also the kind of star who can recruit other players to come play in Houston. Watkins wrote Harden wasn't a part of the Rockets' contingent that visited Ryan Anderson in California, but he did join the group when it met with Eric Gordon.

Part of Houston's presentation for both players included a video about how Harden could run the offense similar to how Steve Nash led the Phoenix Suns. The architect of the Suns' "Seven Seconds or Less" game plan, Mike D'Antoni, is now head coach of the Rockets.

Harden broke down the comparison between him and Nash, per Watkins: "I got a little bit of Nash in me. He had his own pace to the game; that's what I took out of that. You could never speed him up, you could never make him do anything he didn't want to do, that's what separated him from any other point guard at the time, which led to two MVPs."

Even with all of the on-court issues plaguing the Rockets last year, Harden still managed to average 29 points and 7.5 assists a game. Add Gordon—who has averaged 16.6 points a game over his career—and Anderson—a career 37.7 percent three-point shooter—to the mix, and Houston could have a deadly offense next season.

Basketball writer Sam Vecenie argued, however, that defense will be an issue:

After the Golden State Warriors added Kevin Durant this offseason, the Rockets are at best a slim favorite to win the Western Conference next season. Houston should be a playoff contender despite losing Dwight Howard to the Atlanta Hawks.

With Howard gone, the onus is squarely on Harden to lead the team. Houston won't regret signing Harden to a massive extension after just one year, but missing out on the postseason in 2017 may give the front office pause about how it constructed the roster.