RealGM

On pace for 65 wins

1st loss was without Westbrook @Minnesota
2nd loss was @LAC after dominating and having Ibaka ejected
3rd loss was @ Golden State on buzzer beater the night after LAC loss

Jackson looks like a future 6th man of the year candidate
Lamb looks like he will develop into a top 10-12 SG in the league
Adams looks like a future 10/10/3 type center

Yes. The sum of the parts they got back was greater than the whole

I'm kinda 50/50 on it but it's still to early to tell.

We'll see in the postseason.

They were a finals team with Harden. He showed up in big moments in elimination games against Dallas & San Antonio & was amazing in both of those series.

If these guys disappear in the Western Conference playoffs, then obviously you would've wanted Harden.

Of course they made the wrong decision. They gave up Harden for essentially nothing and instead kept the far inferior Westbrook. The fact that Durant is so good that the team is still elite despite making the worse error since Darko over Wade doesn't change the reality that they blew an opportunity to have a GOAT level team in OKC.

Uh. No.

Last year it was the worst trade of all-time
This year its become an okay trade because the pieces are actually getting playing time
Next year we might be saying that Houston had the worst trade of all time



WHO KNOWS, LET'S STOP ASKING THE SAME QUESTION EVERY TWO DAYS AND LOOK AT IT IN TWO MORE YEARS

I'm tired of this same topic as well. It's getting old and redundant. Here is the thing. Trading Harden was not a good move. There is really no way to spin it. However, Durant and Westbrook are two of the top 10 players in the NBA. Not many teams can say they have even one guy as good as those two and all they need is the right mix of role players around them. They don't NEED James Harden to be successful or to be an elite team. Sam Presti just needed to rebuild the bench and it appears that he may have successfully done just that. It doesn't change the fact that OKC with Harden on it would probably be even scarier! They already had Jackson in the fold. Saying they wouldn't be even scarier with Harden on the team instead of Lamb and Adams is probably disingenuous. Doesn't change the fact that they are still an elite team without him though because they are. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Pretty hard not to be a beast with those two guys on your team.

Jackson is a light version James Harden in 2012.
Lamb is a light version of Kevin Martin in 2013.
Adams is a steroids version of any backup center OKC has ever had.

The starting lineups the same. The bench is as good as its ever been. The Harden trade was horrible, but Presti has done a good job drafting to make up for it.

One thing worth considering is how long it will take this new group to be "championship ready" again. They basically could have had several years in a row of championship contention with Harden, but even if we are to believe that their new pieces all work out (which they may not), it will take some time for them to be ready for the playoffs and the big stage. Can Durant wait?

at people who object to this thread but like random 32/10/12 threads. This is the worse management decision in recent NBA history. In this millennium, only Darko over Wade rivals it for craptitude.

In 2012, Harden was already far superior to Westbrook but OKC management refused to consider dealing Westbrook. Westbrook who was overvalued on the market would have netted a better package than Harden. If you chucked in Ibaka with Westbrook you could have gotten basically anything you wanted and dumped Perkins.

Instead OKC sells Harden for 50 cents and lets the one decent piece they got walk.

at anyone who think OKC played the 2012 offseason right.

this should probably just be locked

Does a bear crap in the woods?



I don't like Harden's game, but hell yes they messed up. Talent wins in the league, and he obviously has greater talent than Ibaka and Perkins who were given extensions.

Obviously not, Thunder would already have 4 championships and would go 82-0 if they kept Harden.

No, horrible decision and could have become a big 3 and be title favorites like the Heat the past year and this year (contenders still of course).

Still with or without Harden, they still have #2 best player in the league and a top 10 cold blooded player. Everyone who was saying that it was a bad decision were not saying they will suck, not make the playoffs, not contend, etc.

Also 1 horrible decision does not wash away a lot of good ones, OKC is ran pretty well.

Only playoff results matter for this discussion. If OKC wins a championship or two with this core, then it would be an excellent trade. One of those win-win trades. If OKC doesn't win a title, then the answer is no. Until then, this topic is pointless.

Of course, if the Rockets beat OKC and then win a championship this year, then Presti may never live down the trade.

sp6r=underrated wrote:Of course they made the wrong decision. They gave up Harden for essentially nothing and instead kept the far inferior Westbrook. The fact that Durant is so good that the team is still elite despite making the worse error since Darko over Wade doesn't change the reality that they blew an opportunity to have a GOAT level team in OKC.

I'm not sure if this is sarcasm or not.

Rhinou wrote:

sp6r=underrated wrote:Of course they made the wrong decision. They gave up Harden for essentially nothing and instead kept the far inferior Westbrook. The fact that Durant is so good that the team is still elite despite making the worse error since Darko over Wade doesn't change the reality that they blew an opportunity to have a GOAT level team in OKC.

I'm not sure if this is sarcasm or not.

100% sincerity. OKC completely blew their off-season and it was the most catastrophic decision since Darko over Wade.

Even if they win a title or two it doesn't change the reality they blew the 2012 off-season.

To call call Westbrook FAR INFERIOR to Harden is so silly and pretty much discredits anything else you have to say.