Is James Harden a bust

whatisthis · Post #21 » by **whatisthis** » Sat Nov 27, 2010 9:17 am

He isn't a bust but the Thunder definitely should have taken Curry instead. Honestly Harden is in a position that is very similar to that of Beasley in Miami. He's never going to be able to flourish playing next to Durant/Westbrook since they're going to demand 60%~ of OKC's shots when on the floor and Westbrook isn't a GREAT creator.

If he was on a team with no superstar, ala Indiana or with a great PG like Paul he could do well. I think he could be a 15/4/4 guy on 57-58 TS% in the right system which is by no means a bust

Actually both New Orleans and Utah would be great fits for Harden, but they don't really have anything that would interest the Thunder outside of West and possibly Milsap but I doubt OKC would be willing to include Ibaka which is what would be requested.

richboy · Post #22 » by **richboy** » Sat Nov 27, 2010 9:58 am

whatisthis wrote:He isn't a bust but the Thunder definitely should have taken Curry instead. Honestly Harden is in a position that is very similar to that of Beasley in Miami. He's never going to be able to flourish playing next to Durant/Westbrook since they're going to demand 60%~ of OKC's shots when on the floor and Westbrook isn't a GREAT creator.

If he was on a team with no superstar, ala Indiana or with a great PG like Paul he could do well. I think he could be a 15/4/4 guy on 57-58 TS% in the right system which is by no means a bust

Actually both New Orleans and Utah would be great fits for Harden, but they don't really have anything that would interest the Thunder outside of West and possibly Milsap but I doubt OKC would be willing to include Ibaka which is what would be requested.

Westbrook isn't a great creator but he gets Harden wide open looks. Playing with Durant and Westbrook Harden gets as many wide open 3s as any SG in the league. Thats why he shooting 42% from 3. Problem is that really the only thing he can do consistently.

I would disagree. 15 and 4 is a bust for just about any number 3 pick. You take someone number 3 your expecting borderline all-star production at worst. Your hoping for a guy that be at least a top 7 or 8 at his position. 14 and 4 he probably on the same level as a CJ Miles.

Harden has good talent but he isn't good enough to be a top 2 or 3 player. Beasley is a guy that has ridiculous talent and was just under used in Miami. I think Harden may be more like Shelden Williams. I don't consider Shelden Williams a bust because he had no business going 3 in the first place. Harden is a guy that should have went 15. Then the perception of what he has done is completely different. He would have a lot more confidence if he wasn't trying to live up to being the third pick.

ccvle · Post #23 » by **ccvle** » Sat Nov 27, 2010 8:35 pm

This reminds of the Darko pick with the Pistons. Everyone was saying how wade or bosh wouldnt fit with the 2004 championship team.

trlp1712 · Post #24 » by **trlp1712** » Sat Nov 27, 2010 8:58 pm

the problem guys like Darko, Harden etc have is lack of opportunities. Maybe they are really busts, maybe not, but it's difficult to say because they hace so little playing time (specially Milicic in a championship team and with Larry Brown,k i mean that's insane for development).

gensu3k1 · Post #25 » by **gensu3k1** » Mon Nov 29, 2010 1:51 am

Darko was and is a much more talented player than Harden.

Harden was an awful pick and the red flags were everywhere: "old-stle player" "heady player" "plays below the rim"

Quit cutting Presti slack on this. He blew it on this pick, it happens.

ballchat · Post #26 » by **ballchat** » Thu Dec 2, 2010 5:33 pm

Darko is a bust, or maybe Kwame Brown still needs more touches too. Maybe Kwame's not a bust, just never had the opportunities that Dwight had, what a dumb **** argument.

RaptorFansArePK · Post #27 » by **RaptorFansArePK** » Mon May 30, 2011 1:07 am

no he's not a bust

Rapcity_11 · Post #28 » by **Rapcity_11** » Mon May 30, 2011 1:53 am

The knee jerk posts in this thread are hilarious.

Darain · Post #29 » by **Darain** » Mon May 30, 2011 1:56 am

Damn Harden is underrated :lol:

turk3d · Post #30 » by **turk3d** » Mon May 30, 2011 2:41 am

Hell the Eff no! Did any of your watch the playoffs? He owned out there. Will be starting for sure next year for the Thunder. He and Westbrook will wind up the top defensive backcourt in all of basketball. I realize that he sucked his first two years but seems to have come into his own during the playoffs.

Great athlete and all around game (surprised me on offense is especially with his ability to hit the 3). I really didn't like him when he first came out and thought he was going to be a bust, but don't feel that way after watching the performance he put on in the playoffs this season.

strudel forever · Post #31 » by **strudel forever** » Mon May 30, 2011 3:01 am

Jeff Green held him back. He's got Ginobli like upside.

richboy · Post #32 » by **richboy** » Mon May 30, 2011 5:11 am

turk3d wrote:Hell the Eff no! Did any of your watch the playoffs? He owned out there. Will be starting for sure next year for the Thunder. He and Westbrook will wind up the top defensive backcourt in all of basketball. I realize that he sucked his first two years but seems to have come into his own during the playoffs.

Great athlete and all around game (surprised me on offense is especially with his ability to hit the 3). I really didn't like him when he first came out and thought he was going to be a bust, but don't feel that way after watching the performance he put on in the playoffs this season.

You missed the date on some of the post.

He definitely took some strides. I'm still not sure what to think about him because its still so inconsistent. He showed me he can be a better play maker than I thought. I'm still not sure if he can be a top 8 SG.

Doormatt · Post #33 » by **Doormatt** » Mon May 30, 2011 6:41 am

i would take harden 10 times out of 10 over evans. the only one in that draft who i think would fit better on OKC is curry (besides the #1 of course).

so no, harden is not a bust, not even remotely. imo he needs to be used differently, or needs a change of scenery.

i think tyreke will be a bust though, at least relative to how people around here rate him. harden and curry are much better players and i think we'll see that over time.

ronnymac2 · Post #34 » by **ronnymac2** » Mon May 30, 2011 6:51 am

Haha No way. Not anymore at least.

Ayt · Post #35 » by **Ayt** » Tue Jan 17, 2012 7:44 pm

richboy wrote:He is one of the least talented number 3 picks I can remember. He has skill but he not close to what you would expect from a number 3 pick. His skill set is identical to Reggie Williams who went undrafted.

He a mediocre athlete. His shot is slow so he has to be wide open to get going. His handle and playmaking isn't special. I don't know what they have seen from him to make him that high of a pick. He does nothing great. He does most things average at best.

I like Presti but some of his moves are just bad. With all the picks he accumulated. With all the cap space they had. With all the young talent they have already. Its kind of sad that he hasn't given Durant and Westbrook a legit #3 big man in the low box.

Its to bad they didn't get the number 1 pick that year and use it to take Griffin. Its tough to call Harden a bust because in reality he should have been a late lottery pick at best. Him and Thabeet should never been taken so high. Thabeet has no offensive game and can't rebound. Everyone should have known that in college.

That draft should have been

1. Griffin
2. Evans
3. Curry
4. Rubio
5. Holiday

Exactly. His weaknesses are innumerable.

Dr Positivity · Post #36 » by **Dr Positivity** » Tue Jan 17, 2012 8:04 pm

Yeah... all prospects need minimum 3 years to be judged

Rapcity_11 · Post #37 » by **Rapcity_11** » Tue Jan 17, 2012 8:06 pm

Dr Mufasa wrote:Yeah... all prospects need minimum 3 years to be judged

Agreed. Although Harden was never even showing any signs of being a bust.

CKRT · Post #38 » by **CKRT** » Tue Jan 17, 2012 11:15 pm

richboy wrote:
turk3d wrote:Hell the Eff no! Did any of your watch the playoffs? He owned out there. Will be starting for sure next year for the Thunder. He and Westbrook will wind up the top defensive backcourt in all of basketball. I realize that he sucked his first two years but seems to have come into his own during the playoffs.

Great athlete and all around game (surprised me on offense is especially with his ability to hit the 3). I really didn't like him when he first came out and thought he was going to be a bust, but don't feel that way after watching the performance he put on in the playoffs this season.

You missed the date on some of the post.

He definitely took some strides. I'm still not sure what to think about him because its still so inconsistent. He showed me he can be a better play maker than I thought. I'm still not sure if he can be a top 8 SG.

He's already top 5.

P.S.
:cool: