Did Golden State really turn down a trade for James Harden?

[day1086]

Yup... you're just a hater. Nothing you've said is accurate. Keep sipping the haterade.

At the rim: 60.9%

In the paint: 34.5%

mid-range: 37.3%

corner 3: 37.5%

beyond the break 3: 35.9%

what did i say that was wrong?

I'm confused. Why is this a bad thing again? Do Free Throws no longer count as points?

Lol in my idea of a good player playing to intentionally get to the line isn't something I value highly. His trademark move of intentionally holding the ball as far away from his body as possible is the most annoying and skill-less play I've ever seen. As a fan I'd like to see players try to play basketball, not refball.

Regardless maybe I'll use another thread for my opinion of Harden, I'll leave this one for discussion of this supposed trade.

To wrap up: I'm a golden state fan (and celtics) and would not want james harden as the best player on my team. Houston will never contend with Harden as their best player. How amazing of him to turn a .500 team from last year into a .500 team this year! Amazing!

It's always best to ignore ballboys on RealGM.

Yes. Genuine, new posters should be completely disregarded for having a differing opinion from you.

[Goldtop]

Yup... you're just a hater. Nothing you've said is accurate. Keep sipping the haterade.

At the rim: 60.9%

In the paint: 34.5%

mid-range: 37.3%

corner 3: 37.5%

beyond the break 3: 35.9%

what did i say that was wrong?

I'm confused. Why is this a bad thing again? Do Free Throws no longer count as points?

They count as pts, but its a completely unreliable means of getting pts, and is no indicator whatsoever of a players ability. Some players just get a better whistle than others. Thats not a basketball skill that you can rely on. His game is too dependant on the refs. When the game is on the line deep in the playoffs, I don't want a guy who depends on the refs to produce. I'll take the guy who depends on his own basketball skills to win. Because you never know in the NBA when the refs are suddenly going to stop giving you calls. You already saw it happen to Harden in the Finals last year. Once the refs allowed MIA to get physical with him without calling every touch foul, he basically became useless.

[An Unbiased Fan]

RealGM was laughing at MJ for trying to trade his lotto pick for Harden last year, but now everyone acts like they always knew Harden would blow up to this level.

[PetroNet]

is that a mistake? klay thompson is younger and on his rookie contract. im not sure its a slam dunk move to trade that for harden on a max deal.

The point of having cap space is to acquire players who can help you contend....add Harden to GSW roster and we'd be one rotation big away from contention (IMHO). He's EXACTLY what we need.

i disagree that you are contending with harden on the squad in place of thompson(and maybe barnes too). and how are you getting that big with harden making the max?

[Br0ken_Sp0ke]

This was already reported by Zach Lowe right after the Harden trade to Houston.

On top of the Warriors, the Jazz, Suns, Raptors, and Wizards also had the opportunity to trade for Harden, but ultimately they decided he wasn't worth it. Now they must all be kicking themselves for not topping Houston's package which now looks like a ginormous steal.

Morey should win Executive of the Year based on that masterstroke of a trade alone.

[Keshavarzi]

Only on realGM is the elite ability to get to the line (the easiest points in basketball) seen as a bad thing.

mind=blown

[whatchaknow]

RealGM was laughing at MJ for trying to trade his lotto pick for Harden last year, but now everyone acts like they always knew Harden would blow up to this level.

Thank you!! hindsight is so ridiculous around here. There were some people here who thought OKC won that trade of Harden, which who knows in the end we still havent even seen the finishing pieces of the trade. Could you imagine if they would have ended up with KLay and Barnes? People here would have been lol'ing at the Warriors.

Lets just give props to Houston and Morey instead of putting all these other GMs and teams on blast

[carayip]

1. The salaries wouldn't even match. There must be other pieces involved.

2. Houston's package easily beat your package if your package is only Klay + fillers. GSW couldn't trade picks since they still own Utah a pick.

3. GSW would be way over luxury tax if they gave Harden the max. They're already near that threshold now without that. No way they could afford Harden without trading out other major pieces.

4. Simmons simply didn't know what he's talking about.

[COY0607]

this is hardens last year on his rookie salary, klay thompson still has another 2 years left, and he was really good at the back end of last season.... for a team so close to the luxury threshold, this is a defensible move - especially when you consider the promise thompson showed at the end of last season

[Bay Based]

I'm a Warriors fan, but I'm not sure if I would have done the deal at the time.

Monta Ellis just got traded and Klay Thompson was set to have a big season now that he would be the starting SG. Also, the potential of Harrison Barnes was something to be happy about, too.

In hindsight, I would probably do a deal centered on a Thompson/Barnes package. Klay hasn't had that great of a year, and even though we would trade Harrison Barnes I still think the Warriors would perform well because this means Brandon Rush likely wouldn't have had his freak injury that put him out for the season. I like a healthy Brandon Rush way more than I like Harrison Barnes.

PG: Stephen Curry
SG: James Harden
SF: Brandon Rush
PF: David Lee
C: Andrew Bogut

The Warriors were already 4th seed at the best when they had Klay/Barnes, but if you replace them with Harden/Rush then Golden State would likely be a WCF contender.

James Harden is more versatile than Klay Thompson and a much better scorer. Brandon Rush is much more versatile than Harrison Barnes and is a more efficient three point shooter and is an effective slasher. The only thing Barnes does better than Rush is dunk, but Rush can get to the rim much more easier than Barnes.

[SlavaMedvedenko]

I'm actually surprised that the Warriors haven't paid luxury tax in a long time, considering the contracts they have given out and the way they used their amnesty provision.

[TexansFanatic]

At the rim: 60.9%

In the paint: 34.5%

mid-range: 37.3%

corner 3: 37.5%

beyond the break 3: 35.9%

what did i say that was wrong?

I'm confused. Why is this a bad thing again? Do Free Throws no longer count as points?

Lol in my idea of a good player playing to intentionally get to the line isn't something I value highly. His trademark move of intentionally holding the ball as far away from his body as possible is the most annoying and skill-less play I've ever seen. As a fan I'd like to see players try to play basketball, not refball.

Regardless maybe I'll use another thread for my opinion of Harden, I'll leave this one for discussion of this supposed trade.

To wrap up: I'm a golden state fan (and celtics) and would not want james harden as the best player on my team. Houston will never contend with Harden as their best player. How amazing of him to turn a .500 team from last year into a .500 team this year! Amazing!

It's always best to ignore ballboys on RealGM.

Yes. Genuine, new posters should be completely disregarded for having a differing opinion from you.

I don't really know where to begin. He doesn't "intentionally" get to the line. He's crafty in the way that he gets to the rim and people hack and foul him a lot. Sometimes he gets the benefit of the whistle by just bumping into a guy similar to how Durant draws his fouls, but you're knocking him for being aggressive. You also called him a mediocre 3 point shooter, which isn't really true either.

You not wanting James Harden as your first option is fine, that's you.

But you saying Houston won't be a contender with Harden as their best player is laughable. You really have no basis for it either. Your reasoning for that is pretty much the fact that you hate the way he plays.

lol.. and about the .500 comment. 95% of the Rockets team from last year isn't even on the roster for this year's team. While the Rockets might be overachieving, to say it isn't amazing to see how Harden is leading a team that has the 2nd toughest schedule thus far is just stupid IMO. The Rockets are the youngest team in the league with a brand new roster. To be 8th in the WESTERN, not eastern, conference is solid.

[timlin500]

Imagine a Curry and Harden backcourt. They fit perfectly together. However if you were the Thunder would you take the Rockets offer or Klay and Barnes?

[TaylorMonkey]

Bizarre. I just proposed that building a team would be easy if OKC wanted Klay for Harden in the Moreyball thread. Didn't know it was ever on the table.

We didn't have the appealing picks and expiring contracts to make it work though.

[JH5]

James harden is the most overrated player in the NBA.

Shoots garbage from anywhere except the rim, stats hugely inflated by freethrow attempts, when he drives to the rim he reaches his arm out with the intent of having his arm be hit and flails in attempt to get a call rather than protecting the ball in his pocket and trying to actually score. He's bad from mid range, mediocre from 3, at rim stats inflated by fouls, and highly turnover prone. His raw stats are also largely inflated by pace.

I hate everything about his play style.

no thx.

the only thing that would make me like him is that his driving style would be a perfect match for curry. I would never want him as a first option on a contending team though.

I agree with everything said here, and I'll also add that he plays no defense. You can't be a franchise player if you play no defense. Sorry to the Harden lovers, but its true. But I'm not surprised by the casual fan reaction to him because thats how its always been in the NBA. If you put up big offensive numbers, thats all fanboys care about, and defense is not required by most fans to be considered a star, franchise player, etc, even though in reality its absolutely required if you ever want to win a championship.

that's fine! we will have harden you keep Steph curry!

haha they guy who plays no defense was the guy who OKC look to to defend LeBron in the finals last year, yeah Durant wouldn't do it.


so by your logic Durant doesn't equal franchise player cos of defense.