James Harden is now a free agent, not in the NBA but in the Sneaker wars. Adidas tries to pry away Rockets' guard with a $ 200 Million deal.
Adidas is going all-out to boost its brand and compete with rival and sneaker giant Nike. It should be recalled that Nike rose to the top through endorsements, specifically Michael Jordan.
There's no doubt that an athlete's endorsement plays a big role in the success of shoe sales, more so in basketball than in any other sport. Adidas has already been in the endorsement game but it seems like its host of endorsers are having hard times.
Derrick Rose used to be the MVP and Dwight Howard used to be the best center in the NBA. They went off the radar pretty quick due to injuries and bad publicity (respectively). Adidas new talents Damian Lillard and John Wall are rising stars, but Lillard's team will probably hit a wall this season, and Wall's shoe just didn't do as well as expected.
Add to the fact that the Wall Street Journal revealed that Adidas slipped to no. 3 in shoe sales after the rise of Under Armour, thanks to Stephen Curry winning the MVP and his team taking the championship, the German brand had to push the panic button.
The official statement of Adidas from spokesman Michael Ehrlich: "We've invited James Harden to join Adidas. We're a brand of creators and he truly embodies what that means with his approach to the game, his look and his style on and off the court. He's coming off a historic season where he won the scoring title and was voted MVP by his peers. His connection with fans is unparalleled and unprecedented and he can take the game, our brand and the industry to new heights."
Nike has one week to match the offer and they just paid Kevin Durant's $270 million not to jump ship to Under Armour last season, so they might think twice. Harden does not have a signature shoe with Nike although he has preferred the Nike Hyperchase.
A signature shoe is almost certain for Harden if he jumps ship and one might wonder if Nike waited too long to create Harden's own shoe like Kobe, LeBron, Durant and recently, Kyrie Irving have. They have until the end of the week to find out.