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James Harden TRADED to Rockets

38K views 694 replies 62 participants last post by  kbdullah 
#1 ·
James Harden turned down a four-year, $52 million contract extension offer from the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Harden is seeking a maximum-level deal worth $60 million over four years.

The Thunder have until Wednesday to sign Harden to a contract extension or allow him the opportunity to become a restricted free agent on July 1.

Via Adrian Wojnarowski/Yahoo! Sports
 
#138 ·
Not so, the new cba really penalizes going into luxury tax.
 
#140 ·
Stupid Lacob could of probably got Harden for Monta and Harrison Barnes. Now he has that loser Bogut instead.
 
#146 ·
But... but... he's 28!


You should have realized by now that around here, whichever player has a ton of hype is the best. And a decent guy on a non exciting team like Kevin Martin gets underrated like crazy.



I said last year that Harden was the most overrated player on these forums. Its pretty clear I was right.
 
#147 ·
James Harden was better last season than Kevin Martin will be this season on the Thunder because he is just the better player. Additionally, Harden is a MUCH better fit on the Rockets than he was on the Thunder. He is certainly worth as much to Houston as Hibbert is worth to Indy. He should get Hibbert money, IMO.
 
#148 ·
Grantland has a quality article on the transaction.

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8566897/a-look-oklahoma-city-trade-james-harden-houston-rockets

...
But spare me the dreck about how James Harden should have sacrificed for the greater good. He's under no obligation to do so. The Thunder's owners haven't sacrificed profits here; why should Harden? The Thunder brain trust believes in the importance of sacrifice for the greater good, harking back to Tim Duncan taking less than the max in 2007 to help San Antonio afford its complementary stars. They wanted Harden to make that sort of sacrifice. He didn't, and the Thunder voluntarily chose to cut their championship odds in order to save the equivalent of about $1.5 million in salary and a few million more in tax payments every season.

...

As for the Rockets, they've paid a steep price, as you can trace all the assets they've sent in this deal back to Kyle Lowry (the price for the Raptors pick) and Samuel Dalembert (the price for the pick that became Lamb). Harden isn't a top-three overall player like Howard, Houston's first choice, but he has the potential to be a top-15 or even top-10 player when unleashed as the focal point of his team. He flopped in the Finals, and it is astounding how many fans and writers are judging Harden's contributions based solely on his play in that series — and against one of the league's most athletic defenses.
 
#149 ·
Heres the thing, and I'lll say it again, fans are beyond fickle. So if their lasting memory of Harden is him bombing in the finals they'll use that to judge him more than they should. It's like I was telling Dre in the finals last year when he was stating that Harden was due to get "near max" dollars until he slumped in the finals, GMs are smarter than the posters here.
 
#163 ·
If you're 6'7 and you grab three boards a game then you're not average. And I have absolutely no idea where you're getting this passing thing from. Have you ever watched Kevin Martin play? He can put the ball in the bucket but that's about it.
 
#167 ·
Yeah, I am pretty sure James Harden will be a top 5 scorer this season.

I also like how people ignore the fact Kevin Martin has never had a major role on a winning team in his career(6 career playoff games in a 10 year career:2ti:). So the 20 ppg thing is total bullshit.
 
#169 ·
actually if you compare their minute to minute stats the differences are bigger

but this isnt just about Martin for Harden and its not just about 1.5m a year - it's about a ton more flexibility going forward and being able to pay for 3 or 4 young guys on rookie contracts instead of just Harden + luxury tax
 
#178 ·
The other thing potentially getting lost in this trade is the fact that late lottery picks are more valuable on a team like the Thunder than they typically are on a true rebuilding squad. If Bargnani and/or Lowry have any sort of injury problems this year, that pick could get real interesting in a good draft. Also, Jeremy Lamb and Perry Jones could turn out to be starters alongside OKC's current big three if they are given the proper time to develop in this good environment.
 
#179 ·
True. Most championship teams have to go out and sign guys every year to fill out their roster and never get decent prospects. The Lakers the only guy I can think of recently is Bynum, and the Heat have the same problem.

San Antonio is the only one off the top of my head that was able to keep a stocked talent pool through having some amazing late picks in the draft.


Being a title contender and having quality young players coming into the system is going to be a real boost for OKC.


Like everyones said, Martin won't replace Harden 100%, but they will improve in other areas because of this trade.
 
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