Harden got traded since he wanted to much money.

[Hoops Addict]

The Oklahoma City Thunder have traded James Harden to the Houston Rockets.

The Rockets have sent Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb and future pick considerations (first round picks from Mavericks and Raptors in 2013, and a second round pick from the Bobcats) for Harden, Cole Aldrich, Lazar Hayward and Daequan Cook.



Read more: http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/22 ... estion????? Who won this trade?



http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/22 ... To_Rockets

Greedy Hardon got traded to Rockets.

OCK probably was pissed he did not agree to $13 M a year.

It would be justice if he got injured, nothing career ending, but something like an achilles tendon....that made Houston only want to offer him $8-$10M a year next year.

Damn.

If OKC took that little in return....do you think they would have taken Milsap and Burks for Hardon? Would we even want someone that demanded $15M?

[roll]

It would be justice if he got injured, nothing career ending, but something like an achilles tendon....that made Houston only want to offer him $8-$10M a year next year.

Eric Gordon

If OKC took that little in return....do you think they would have taken Milsap and Burks for Hardon?

They got Lamb. And OKC has Ibaka. Doesn't need Milsap.

[carrottop12]

Won't ever say these guys are greedy, guy earned his money, let him take it. Hell, this is way better for the Jazz.

[The59Sound]

It's easy to call someone greedy when they won't give up free money; it's hard to be the guy who actually gives up the free money.

[CAE15]

Justice is an injury? He deserves to get paid just like everyone else. Also possibly he wants to show that he can be the man. Not living in Durant and Westbrook's shadow..ala T-Mac

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 2

[Neon Black]

Harden doesn't know what he gave up, assuming he cares about winning a championship at all. He's great but he won't ever be the best player on a championship team, imo.

[Phenom415]

Yeah...he got traded because there is no $$ left when you've already extended Durant, Westbrook, Ibaka, and Perk. Dude deserves to get paid. If I were him and my team spent their money on four other guys, I would want to be traded. He could get something max-like on the open market. Good on him for not taking less.

[babyjax13]

The Perkins extension is looking pretty bad right now.

[StocktonShorts]

The Perkins extension is looking pretty bad right now.

To me it's the Ibaka deal that looks questionable. They opted to overpay him rather than overpay Harden.

[Inigo Montoya]

Max for Harden in questionable. But trading him for 4.5M less then the max instead of just giving him the max is equally questionable. And yes, the Ibaka deal is also questionable, as well as the trade for Perkins.

[Hoops Addict]

I don't wish him a career ending injury, just something that is temporary that would make Houston offer him less than the Max, actually the exact amount OCK offered him.

Hell yeah.......go for the money. He has the right to do that, but I am just saying if he is offered $52 M for 4 years....or about $13.3 M a year, and he turns it down since he wants $15 M a year, than 10% more money is worth more than your love for your team and fans.

It is ok to just go for the money only, and don"t care about the fans or OKC.

http://withleather.uproxx.com/2012/10/t ... en-already

The fans in OKC are having a BBQ with Harden's jersies. They don;t think it is great he refused to sign.

It would be sacrificing a little money, but he gets to play on his first team with Durant and Westborook.

I just hope he plays for Houston and is the 7th or 8th seed for 5 years in a row and does not win any playoff games.

Of course, if he got a deal from Portland like Matthews did, maybe $9M a year instead of $5M, then of course you have to take that and not apoligize for it, but for 10% more? Meh.....I do not like him much and think there are some cigarette butts and bottle caps in his dirty beard.

[babyjax13]

Eight million dollars is eight million dollars no matter how rich you are.

[Paper Face]

Eight million dollars is eight million dollars no matter how rich you are.

Don't kid yourself. He'll be considerably poorer on a team where he's not playing off of Westbrook and Durrant every night. That's what made their team so special. The kind of chemistry he had with those guys is something he will likely never encounter again in his career. 8 million is not worth that.

But when you are 23, egotistical, and complaining about touches after winning game 1 of the finals, I guess a yacht party every summer is what you care about. The 8 million should barely cover that.

[Inigo Montoya]

It's not even 8M. The final offer was 4.5M short of the max.

[countrybama24]

Good for Harden. He wanted to be paid what he's worth, I don't see the problem.

Management made $30-45M last year, their owner is worth billions, and they couldn't pony up another $10M to cover the max + luxury tax? They're the cheap ones, nickle and diming their fans.

Harden didn't want to be a second-class star on the team, sacrificing minutes, touches AND salary.

Would I have taken a pay cut to stay on the thunder and play with KD and RW? Sure. But if I were management, I wouldn't be running an NBA franchise on the cheap, taking advantage of fans loyalty, maximizing profit at the expense of wins.

On the other hand, being born in Seattle and growing up a Sonics fan, I love seeing their management trying to win a championship on the cheap. Enjoy your ownership! Bennett is a real charmer huh.

[Paper Face]

As devastated as James Harden might be, the former Thunder star is getting the money he wanted

Harden wanted three days to think about Thunder's offer, but general manager Sam Presti gave him one hour to decide. And Presti stuck to his word.

By Berry Tramel | Published: October 28, 2012

James Harden boarded an airplane Sunday morning, bound for Houston. He was “devastated,” said someone who knows the Bearded One. Harden and his family both.

Said Harden was stunned that the Thunder actually traded him to the Rockets. He didn't believe the Thunder would do it.

But Sam Presti told him. Presti's lips now are sealed, but sources from both parties said that the Thunder appealed one final time to Harden on Friday. Upped its offer to $53 million over four years but told Harden if he didn't take it, he would be traded to Houston.

Presti didn't use that as a warning. He used it as a plea. He desperately wanted to keep Harden, but this was the last best offer.

And the Thunder gave Harden an hour to accept.

It wasn't that Presti was trying to play hardball, necessarily. He was on the clock. That deal with the Rockets wouldn't last forever; Houston wanted Harden early enough to sign him to a contract extension by the Halloween deadline. Presti had decided that if Harden wouldn't sign an extension with OKC, a preseason deal offered the Thunder its best leverage.

Harden, through his agent, said he needed three days. Presti stood firm on one hour.

And 60 minutes later, Presti called the Rockets and consummated a rare NBA October blockbuster trade.

So Harden got on that plane Sunday morning, and maybe “devastated” wasn't the accurate description. Maybe he just had buyer's remorse. Maybe he played a bad game of poker.

But Harden sounded awfully melancholy Sunday in Houston.

“It happened so fast, it happened very fast,” Harden said, a point Presti might dispute, since talks started in July.

“But this is the position I'm in now,” Harden said. “Just have to make the best of it.”

I don't know if Harden's chief goal was to get the most money he could get out of the Thunder, or get the most money he could get anywhere. His former comrades, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka, made it clear. They wanted a big chunk of change, but they wanted it in OKC, and any compromise would come on the former, not the latter.

So who knows? Maybe Harden wants to be the face of a franchise, which he will be in Houston. He'll also have May and June free to host his yacht parties. The Thunder has turned into a sweatshop; you work virtually every day in May and maybe June, too.

But Harden misplayed it badly if he really did want to stay arm-in-arm with Kevin Durant and Westbrook, a status which in three short years has made him an Olympian, an NBA star and a cult hero far beyond little ol' OKC.

First off, Presti and Clay Bennett aren't exactly jokesters. They're serious men. You might not like what they say, but you can believe what they say — and yes, that means you, too, Seattle.

“We have to do what we say,” Presti said Sunday.

Plus, the Thunder contract offer not only was generous, it was borderline irresponsible. I have no idea how Presti thinks he was going to be able to pay Durant, Westbrook, Ibaka and Harden a combined $60 million a year, without luxury taxes endangering the franchise.

But Thunder ownership went out on a shaky limb and OK'd the offer.

Harden had been demanding a maximum contract from the Thunder and never really retreated. The difference between the Thunder's final offer and the max is about $5 million over four years — $1.25 million a year.

Of course, that's $1.25 million to Harden, but much more than that to the Thunder, because of luxury taxes.

Harden will get a five-year deal from Houston, upward of $78 million, an offer unavailable from the Thunder since the new labor agreement limits five-year deals to one per team, and Westbrook got the Thunder's exception a year ago.

So Harden has his max contract. Nice consolation prize for feeling devastated.

http://newsok.com/as-devastated-as-jame ... le/3723393

[countrybama24]

That is quite depressing to read. I was hoping Harden was more comfortable with his decision, but it sounds like he let his agent take control and never thought he could actually be moved. Lose-lose outcome really (except for his agent).

[Paper Face]

The final offer makes it quite clear that OKC are not "nickle-and-diming" their fans. It was well within market range, and the luxury tax was all but guaranteed.

But yeah, congratulations are in order for Mr. Pelinka.

While it is a lose-lose, I have to tip my hat to Presti who still maximized Harden's value and played the whole situation like a complete professional. He's one of the best GM's in the league.

[The59Sound]

Only one game (against Detroit, no less), but James Harden tore up the planet tonight.

[Sparky6string]

Houston may laugh about this deal for years to come. That was quite the game from Harden tonight. After missing out on Dwight this off season they may have done well here. That's a lot of money though...