Millsap & #12 for Harden, Manor

blackham9258 · Post #1 » by **blackham9258** » Tue May 24, 2011 4:37 am

Thunder are dying, dying without an inside presence. Harden is getting a lot of pub lately, but outside of the shine on the playoffs, he is a very good 6th or 7th man. Millsap is a 18/8 starter and a 6th man of the year candidate if he were to come off the bench. Now, Millsap is worth more than Harden, but not quite Harden and Manor....hence the inclusion of the #12 pick.

With that pick the Thunder should seriously look at Klay Thompson, Chris Singleton to lock down apposing players and perhaps Fredette.

Fair trade? Thoughts.

Post #2 » by **StocktonShorts** » Tue May 24, 2011 4:40 am

Actually OKC lost this game tonight after Harden fouled out. They'd scoff then laugh at this offer.

blackham9258 · Post #3 » by **blackham9258** » Tue May 24, 2011 5:10 am

43% Shooting, and 35% from 3, is not a star in the making. I think he is a great back up, and a better than average stater. The reason however to do this trade is to bring balance.

How good will Harden ever be as a wing on the Thunder with Durant and Westbrook playing the wing and guard positions. The answer likely is, that he will average 11-15ppg, shooting similar to what he is shooting now.

Making a move to bring more balance to your team is the way to go. This trade accomplishes that for both teams.

schneiderjazz · Post #4 » by **schneiderjazz** » Tue May 24, 2011 5:45 am

Harden still has a lot of potential though, so OKC won't trade him for an above average starter in Millsap and the #12 pick in a weak draft. I tihnk OKC would trade Westbrook before they trade Harden unless they can get Dwight somehow trading him.

Jazzfan12 · Post #5 » by **Jazzfan12** » Tue May 24, 2011 5:45 am

Harden and Hayward play exactly the same...

Post #6 » by **StocktonShorts** » Tue May 24, 2011 6:51 am

If I'm OKC I don't touch the core of this team. They should grow and improve "organically."

J_Ray · Post #7 » by **J_Ray** » Tue May 24, 2011 7:22 am

Harden's true shooting percentage is his main attribute, guy gets to the line at an elite level for a SG and OKC would laugh at this offer. Also Ibaka is their PF and he's a much bigger presence. They just got rid of Jeff Green to clear way for him, I doubt they would even consider this.

kamazilla · Post #8 » by **kamazilla** » Tue May 24, 2011 2:44 pm

There would be no reason for the Thunder to make this move, as it seems to disrupt the team's balance, not enhance it.

For the Jazz, Millsap will still fit as sixth man unless we draft Williams. I also like the 12th pick. This is a strange draft in that it may be thin at the top, but its stacked with intriguing players deeper in the first round. Singleton is a great example. Just look at the playoffs this year, and the correlation between defensive performance on the wings and a team's ability to close out games. I would love to see him on the Jazz.

Post #9 » by **StocktonShorts** » Tue May 24, 2011 3:42 pm

blackham9258 wrote:Thunder are dying, dying without an inside presence.

I also dispute the notion that the Thunder are "dying without an inside presence." They outrebounded the Mavs 55 to 33 last night, and outscored them 54 to 36 on points in the paint. They also blocked nine shots. And it's not just numbers. Perkins, Collison and Ibaka all pass the eyeball test (to me).

Even if they WERE having problems inside, you think Paul Millsap would solve that? He tends to struggle against tall guys like Chandler and Haywood.

And even if they thought Millsap would help, whose minutes would they give him? They just traded an undersized PF (Jeff Green) in no small part to give more time to Ibaka.

Look, I like Harden a lot and I'd love to get him, but I don't think Paul Millsap is attractive to OKC.

countrybama24 · Post #10 » by **countrybama24** » Tue May 24, 2011 10:53 pm

The thunder are dying because they don't have an offense (or a real coach, it seems). They'd trade for jerry sloan no doubt.