Twitter Reacts to James Harden's Record Houston Rockets Contract Extension

Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander announced Saturday that the team signed superstar guard James Harden to a four-year contract extension, which led to a deluge of social media reaction.

According to ESPN's Bobby Marks, Harden will be the first player to sign the designated player veteran extension. Marks added that Harden is expected to make $37.8 million, $40.8 million, $43.8 million and $46.8 million during the four years of the extension, respectively.

Among the first to react to the news was Harden himself, as he praised the Rockets organization, per the team's official Twitter account:

The current NBA landscape is conducive to free-agent departures, but SB Nation's The Dream Shake accurately pointed out that Houston took a proactive approach to keep its best player:

The Dream Shake also tweeted a humorous account of how it believed the contract negotiations may have played out:

While there is no question that Harden came away with a sweet deal, ESPN's Bomani Jones pointed out that the Rockets likely benefited from the fact that he enjoys playing in Houston:

Harden is set financially after signing the richest contract extension in NBA history, which led The Sports Quotient to compare him to another well-to-do athlete in Floyd Mayweather Jr.:

Former NFL player Matthew A. Cherry referenced the fact that Harden's contract won't be encumbered by a pesky state income tax in Texas:

Since that figures to save Harden a great deal of his considerable fortune, MLB Network's Robert Flores figures the star guard may have to find unconventional uses for his money, like Harry Dunne did in Dumb and Dumber:

CBS Sports went with an old standby in comparing Harden to Scrooge McDuck:

Astros_Feed mentioned the possibility of this move's setting up a potential trade for New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony:

The Rockets have taken major steps toward staying contenders in the Western Conference next season, as The Beard's extension follows the trade for point guard Chris Paul from the Los Angeles Clippers.

Some have expressed concern about Harden and Paul's ability to coexist since they both dominate the ball, but CP3 cracked a joke about the issue after the announcement of Harden's extension:

Harden is among the NBA's top players after finishing as an MVP finalist in 2016-17, but the contract he landed would've been unheard of in the recent past.

Noam Schiller of Hardwood Paroxysm tweeted about how the league's salary structure has changed significantly in less than two decades:

Despite Harden's success, there will undoubtedly be constant questions regarding whether it makes sense for the Rockets to tie up so much cap space in one player.

Harden hit the skids during the playoffs, but after he averaged 29.1 points, 11.2 assists and 8.1 rebounds per game during the 2016-17 regular season, Houston couldn't afford to risk losing him.