Kiwi Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks didn't need to think twice about the chance to acquire NBA superstar James Harden.
On Thursday, Marks engineered the latest in a series of marquee trades to nab the former Most Valuable Player and All-NBA first teamer from Houston Rockets, via a blockbuster transaction involving four teams.
The Nets were forced to give up a huge haul of assets to secure Harden, including rising stars Caris LaVert and Jarrett Allan, Taurean Prince, Rodion Kurucs, four future first-round picks and four pick swaps.
But Marks is confident the steep price will ultimately be worth every cent to create a terrifying new trio that also includes fellow All-Stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, and immediately tags the Nets as title contenders.
"Anytime you get an opportunity to acquire a player of this calibre, it is something you got to look hard at," Marks tells brooklynnets.com.
"That is certainly something we did and the process sped up very rapidly over the last 48 hours. We are very fortunate to be looking at James Harden as a member of the Nets family.
"We know what James is capable of on the court - we’ve seen that. When you are bringing in an MVP First-NBA team-calibre player, he knows what he is capable of doing.
"This was something that came around relatively quickly, sped up very fast, and at the end of the day, it goes back to when you have the opportunity to add James Harden to your roster, you do everything you possibly can to try to make that happen."
The 31-year-old Harden had become increasingly vocal about his desire to move on from the Rockets and that sentiment reached its crescendo after a loss to LA Lakers earlier this week, when he insisted the situation couldn't be "fixed" and took veiled shots at his teammates.
Marks has dismissed any suggestion that taking on Harden and his infamous temperament is an unnecessary risk.
"I don’t read too much into that,” Marks says. "I do not want to speak for James or any of our players for the things they say.
"They've got their own voices, their own brands and these guys are grown men. There are reasons behind everything.
"We weigh in all the intel, and all the factors in terms of making the best decision of bringing in the right people and the right fits."
"I enjoyed the conversation I had with James last night and I look forward to getting to know him, just as our players and staff certainly do.
"I like what I heard and I think he is looking for a fresh start, and these guys are going to have to sacrifice. They are also going to push our franchise and bring us where we need to go."
The challenge for new head coach Steve Nash and his staff - which includes Harden's former Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni - is to make the NBA's newest 'big three' work on the court.
Durant, Irving, and Harden are all cut from a similar cloth - ball-dominant scorers, who feast on tough shot-making.
With the right amount of sacrifice, Marks believes the result could be breathtaking and is banking on Harden's familiarity with former Oklahoma City Thunder teammate Durant to ease that transition.
"I think, when you have a group that is willing to sacrifice, play hard, and play together on the court - and they already have a prior relationship to this - that will certainly help here," he says.
"I think these guys have given us the right answers. They said they want to play together and can see this fitting.
"We are all looking for that common goal as well and that is to be the last team standing."
Marks says he’s had lengthy conversations with all three players and they're all on the same page.
"I spoke to [Kyrie] and Kevin yesterday as this was going down," Marks says. "Getting their thoughts and really hear what their commitment was going to be.
"They were the ones to bring it up right off the bat, which was that they want to win. That is all I heard from James, that ‘I want to win’.
"I think everybody knows the position of this team and what we're capable of potentially doing.
"Now we've got to get everybody gelling on the same page, and I do not know if that takes two games, 10 games or 20 games."
