James Harden traded to the Rockets

[StitchJones]

I bet Laker fans are celebrating right now. Shame Harden decided to ruin a potential dynasty for some measly 5 mil. OKC is a small market team they can't afford that many max players so don't give me that crap that they were cheap.

People PLEASE look at the long term. It's about more than this contract. It's about the NEXT one. Signing that contract meant he would be a 6th man fo the next for years. At 27 and having been a 6th man for all that time, his next contract would be maybe 4 years and 13 mil per year (52 million). Now he has a chance to be a foundational player putting up 22 5 and 5. Those are MAX CONTRACT numbers. That means the next contract is 6 years 20 million or 120 million. His role these next few years makes a HUGE difference in the money he commands for his next contract. My guess is he told them he would sign for less, but they have to start him. They refused and traded him.

[Basileus777]

If okc were to shop around 5 days or so they could have gotten a lot more back

Do you think Presti is just lazy or something? Any deal would require OKC not taking back additional salary, which would limit things significantly.

[therealbig3]

Wade is well great from 3-15. Harden is terrible from anywhere in between the rim and three point line. Wade is a beast from everywhere but 16+ where he's still at least reliable and very good when it matters (he's always shot way better in the PS).

You're blatantly shifting the goalposts. You asked if there were any 1st options that had no midrange game. Wade and LeBron are two of the best 1st options of all time, and they didn't have a midrange game for much of their careers.

And again, just because Harden doesn't shoot a lot of midrange shots doesn't mean he can't. How much sense does it make to think an elite 3pt and FT shooter can't hit midrange shots consistently? It just isn't worth it to take midrange shots when you're as good as he is at FTs and 3 pointers.

[fallacy]

They can only give him 4/60.

am i missing something? This wasn't a sign and trade and Houston hasn't used their five year deal yet. What's stopping Houston for going 5 years?

Are not extensions only eligible for 4 years now?

Edit: My mistake, with the franchise player loophole.

That's what I thought. Harden will get the full max, 5 years/80 million

[Neutral 123]

This thread is so bizarre. All types of odd stuff being posted. Martin in not in their future. So they traded Harden for Lamb and mediocre draft picks. All this excitement over draft picks. They trade a 23 year old to get younger? A second youth movement? WTF.

[Guy986]

I'm on hoopdata just like you. I love how you open up by saying IDK what site your using and then post how he's still waaaaaaay better than Harden.

Yes thats more than Harden but if you expect Martin to produce numbers from the mid range then....... you will be disappointed/

He is strictly a 3 point bomber and a FT line stalker.

You just posted the numbers proving he isn't. HARDEN is exactly what you just described so thank you for disproving your own point already.

I'm referring to skillset when i say he is strictly a 3 point bomber and a FT line stalker. Thats his entire role offensively. Granted he's great at what he does but how many times have you hear people say Kevin Martin is one dimensional?

He is one dimensional offensively because he cant handle the ball. Because he cant dribble he has zero ability to create his own shot.


Kevin Martin is a shooter period. James Harden is a shooter and a playmaker. See the difference?

[Super Selby]

Jeremy Lamb is at best a slightly better Kevin Martin, did I forget when this dude got elite SG potential. That boy stop, this is the trade of overrated assets

[Bankai]

ESPN reporting that OKC's best offer was $55.5 million. So Harden basically bailed out on a potential dynasty for $4.5 million. Hope he spends that money more wisely than Antoine Walker did.

‏@AschNBA: Lot of people who say James Harden should have preferred W's + $52M vs. $60M + L's would change jobs for $50 a week raise.

enough said

Not if your new job is going to be so bad. I think people would rather be in a job where they are also happy and get paid good, losing dosent make people happy. Harden is basically risking his career as a potential champion, to an exposed, overpaid player. He is risking a lot to make $5 Million Dollars more . Sam Presti got the Thunder better when he traded a promising young Jeff Green for Kendrick Perkins with a bigger contract. I think he saw something in Harden and the money he wants that he is banking on this move to make lightning strike twice.

[justinandimcool]

as a fan of a team with no future, I'll celebrate this trade while I can. I'm one of those who's a huge believer in OKC's future now if Lamb/PJ3 pan out for as cheap as they currently are.

as far as 2013 is concerned, our window just got a smidge bigger

[Muggsy Bogues]

Who is greedier, in the end? The OKC front office or Harden?

Who cares? In the end, they both f*cked over the fans. Chemistry is a tricky thing... the Thunder managed to make the finals with the team they had, but who knows if they'll ever make it back again? The one sure thing is that they're out of the running for the foreseeable future.

[CousinOfDeath]

Truly amazing that taking a 44% TS% shot from 18 feet more often than the other guy is now considered a strength, particularly for a guy that's playing off 2 guys with midrange games.

Hurrah! Kevin Martin can shoot those long 2's with the best of em!

Name one first option without a midrange game. Don't worry, I'll wait.

Rose had no midrange game by the time he was an All-Star

lol

[CU_NY09]

I'm on hoopdata just like you. I love how you open up by saying IDK what site your using and then post how he's still waaaaaaay better than Harden.

Yes thats more than Harden but if you expect Martin to produce numbers from the mid range then....... you will be disappointed/

He is strictly a 3 point bomber and a FT line stalker.

You just posted the numbers proving he isn't. HARDEN is exactly what you just described so thank you for disproving your own point already.

I'm referring to skillset when i say he is strictly a 3 point bomber and a FT line stalker. Thats his entire role offensively. Granted he's great at what he does but how many times have you hear people say Kevin Martin is one dimensional?

He is one dimensional offensively because he cant handle the ball. Because he cant dribble he has zero ability to create his own shot.
Kevin Martin is a shooter period. James Harden is a shooter and a playmaker. See the difference?

Your analysis is correct. Before tonight, no one was talking about Kevin Martin, now he's this awesome player?! Okay.

[Zedders]

This is a horrible deal for OKC. I don't care how many picks they got, that's stuff only scrub teams care about. When you're a contending team and you trade away your 3rd best player for an expiring, a prospect and some picks, it's a terrible trade.

Kevin Martin is a huge downgrade on Harden. Jeremy Lamb is a rookie who isn't going to contribute much in the playoffs. Those picks aren't going to play this season. OKC has just handed the Lakers a finals' spot.

[Im Coming Home]

I think this trade is great for the Thunder

They have so many Line up options.. now they don't have to worry about keeping atleast KD or Westbrook on the floor at all times.. Kevin Martin can handle the scoring for you guys for a bit.. this also helps you match up with the Heat better imo..

Ibaka or Perkins in the Joel Anthony/Whoever role
Durant in the Lebron role
Sefelosha in the Battier role
Kevin Martin in the Mario Chalmers/Ray Allen role + Better scoring
Westbrook in the DWade role.

On top of that they strengthen their bench with a young talent in Jeremy Lamb, and if it unfortunately doesn't work out for them this year, or even if it does.. they still have a more than likely top 5-top 10 lotto pick from the Raptors so long as it isn't Top 2-3(Protected).. to improve your team even more.

[fallacy]

The funniest thing is that OKC got more for a backup and a top 25 NBA player than Orlando got for Dwight Howard who is a top 3/5 player.

Don't know if that shows how good OKC's front office is or how bad Orlando's front office is

[Left Side Drive]

WOW amazing...Houston finally got the "all-star" player they have been desperately trying to get.

[misterrunon]

i find it strange how some people say how it's absolutely a bad deal for OKC. we don't know yet because draft picks are draft picks. they won't be as strong this year, but it could be a blessing in disguise for them a few years down the line.

[C-izMe]

I'm on hoopdata just like you. I love how you open up by saying IDK what site your using and then post how he's still waaaaaaay better than Harden.

Yes thats more than Harden but if you expect Martin to produce numbers from the mid range then....... you will be disappointed/

He is strictly a 3 point bomber and a FT line stalker.

You just posted the numbers proving he isn't. HARDEN is exactly what you just described so thank you for disproving your own point already.

I'm referring to skillset when i say he is strictly a 3 point bomber and a FT line stalker. Thats his entire role offensively. Granted he's great at what he does but how many times have you hear people say Kevin Martin is one dimensional?

He is one dimensional offensively because he cant handle the ball. Because he cant dribble he has zero ability to create his own shot.


Kevin Martin is a shooter period. James Harden is a shooter and a playmaker. See the difference?

All I'm saying is that they have Maynor and Westbrook for playmaking and Martin is a better scorer than Harden. That's all I'm saying.

[Grahf]

I would say that bitter Sonics fans are the only clear winners of this deal.

This may be a good time to revisit Bill Simmons' article on the subject:

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8486795/the-harden-dilemma

Finally, Harden is way better than Kevin Martin. I don't understand how people can debate this.

[Sedale Threatt]

OKC has just handed the Lakers a finals' spot.

And in that regard, I should actually be defending this trade. Although I still don't think it's going to be easy.