The celebrated $ 200 million deal that would change James Harden's kicks from Swoosh to Stripes has yet to take effect until October 1.
This was mentioned by Ball Don't Lie: "While Adidas made its major investment in Harden in August, his contract as an endorser and brand ambassador doesn't begin until Oct. 1, meaning he doesn't need to be fresh-dipped in stripes for another couple of weeks."
Still it caused quite a stir when James Harden was caught wearing Air Jordans outside a theater. The incident was reported by TMZ, as recounted by ESPN.
"Harden was spotted wearing the Air Jordans by TMZ on Friday while walking out of a movie theater with girlfriend Khloe Kardashian, who was wearing an Adidas sweatshirt and sweatpants. Kardashian's brother-in-law is Kanye West, the name behind the coveted Adidas Yeezy line."
ESPN also warned that this is a serious matter, even leading to legal action as what happened between Shawn Kemp and Reebok (which Adidas has purchased for $ 3.8 billion. Kemp was critical about his footwear sponsor's products and also said that his favorite pair was Nike. Reebok terminated their contract and both sides ended up suing each other but the case was settled.
But since the contract has yet to take effect, Harden does not seem liable. Nevertheless, a stern reminder was aired, and Harden seems to have read the memo. In another TMZ sighting of "Harden outside a club at 2am" and he was asked about the Adidas contract. The seemingly drunken response as transcribed (or translated) by FTW:
"I just want to know-whoa. Adidas is about to [inaudible]. Nike is cool. Adidas is about to be amazing. SWAG! [INAUDIBLE]!"
His loyalty seems clear now, as you can see in the video: