James Harden Traded to Houston

[AsUdUdE]

ESPN reporting James Harden has been traded to Houston in exchange for Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb and Draft picks..

Crap..

 

[Gee!]

good.. Keep him away from the Suns..

Watch what happens..

 

[Phrazbit]

I was just coming here to post this... thats too bad. I really hope we dont panic and blow our wad just because the presumed prime target is off the market.

Depending on the picks they got that looks like a really sweet deal for OKC, Pesti is genius, way more foresight than most GMs out there, even with a contender in the present he is making moves for the future.

I dont think this trade makes Houston particularly good, but I did consider them to be the worst roster in the West and this probably elevates them out of the cellar.

 

[SunsTzu]

I guess this answers the question as to if the Thunder will pay tax. They didn't get equal value, but a decent return since they weren't going to pay Harden after this season.

 

[Phrazbit]

Wow... what a haul. Two future firsts, Lamb, Martin (who is a gigantic expiring deal). Great deal for OKC.

 

[SunsTzu]

One of the firsts it the Raptors pick that turns into a 2nd round pick if it isn't in a certain range in the lottery.

 

[Superbone]

I'm not convinced Harden is worth the max. Time will tell. Let's see how he does as the man.

 

[sunsfan88]

What a blow for OKC. This gives them a better future but now their not much better than LAL if they are at all.

Biggest thing is that Martin isn't nearly one fourth the playmaker that Harden is.

Still a good deal for OKC though cause of the picks and they could have done a lot worse than Martin.

 

[asudevil83]

this could blow up in Houston's face. not that i hate Harden, but he hasnt shown that he can be the man. and the way that Lin has panned out so far, they look to have possibly chosen the wrong PG. letting both Dragic and Lowry go could prove costly.

and i dont get what Houston is doing in general. they gutted their team, took bad some first rounders, and got rid of all their long term deals. they go out, trade the picks, and get a guy who'll command the max, and isnt worth it YET IMO.

this should not have been Houston's year to make a big move. they should have let what they have play out, grab another lotto pick and used their assets to nab a game changer next offseason.

Harden COULD end up being Martin II

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Bill Simmons ‏@sportsguy33

I fully support Harden refusing to take 4 yrs 52-54m from OKC. Could get 5 years 75-80m from Houston (no state tax). It's no contest.

 

[elindholm]

Wow, crazy. They broke up a championship team over a few million dollars. Is Martin going to come off the bench, and if not, then why not just have moved Harden into the starting lineup?

 

[slinslin]

Its not just a few million dollars with the luxury tax it was going to be like 30 million every season..

To be honest I don't care at all. I like Harden but he is not worth a max contract at all so the Suns should have never tried to sign him next year anyway and I think OKC fleeced Houston.

Also for Houston I really doubt that Lin and Harden works out well in their backcourt. Both need the ball to be effective.

 

[D-Dogg]

Wow, are they conceding to the Lakers and playing their hand for 2014-15 season?

I'm a little surprised at that. Makes them much less of a threat to the Lakers this year.

 

[Phrazbit]

Wow, are they conceding to the Lakers and playing their hand for 2014-15 season?

I'm a little surprised at that. Makes them much less of a threat to the Lakers this year.

You're in for a rude awakening... LA still matches up terribly with OKC. The Lakers need to pray someone else knocks OKC out, and even then, the Lakers complete lack of depth means they will have to stay miraculously healthy in order to make a real title push.

OKC should still be the heavy favorites in the West, but I think this really weakens them against Miami.

 

[Phrazbit]

And I looked up the terms on the Raptor pick they are getting:

2013 first round draft pick to Houston

Toronto's own 2013 1st round pick to Houston (Top-3 Protected and 15-30 Protected in the 2013 Draft, top-2 protected and 15-30 protected in 2014, top-2 protected and 15-30 protected in 2015, top-1 Protected and 15-30 protected in 2016, top-1 protected and 15-30 Protected in 2017 and unprotected in the 2018 Draft. [Houston-Toronto, 7/11/2012]

Read more: http://basketball.realgm.com/nba/draft/future_drafts/detailed#ixzz2AaWYH41M
​

That is a pretty sweet pick. Rather than lotto protected its lotto guaranteed for OKC. Not sure what the terms are on the other 1st they received.

 

[slinslin]

Wow, are they conceding to the Lakers and playing their hand for 2014-15 season?

I'm a little surprised at that. Makes them much less of a threat to the Lakers this year.

Harden was terrible in the playoffs I don't think the Thunder will miss him that much and Kevin Martin is a good fit for them and Lamb very talented. I doubt they will be worse this year and should be better down the road.

 

[Griffin]

Harden may not be worth the max, but that is his market value, and very few players in this league are actually worth the max. I think he would have been a solid FA target. The Suns are very unlikely to draft someone even of his caliber in the draft, even with a high draft pick.

Martin's days in Houston were numbered (as they will be in OKC), but they still gave up a lottery rookie and two first rounders to get Harden. That's a lot, considering they could have waited until next summer.

I wonder if the Suns made an offer to OKC and who they are planning to target now.

 

[slinslin]

Harden only has that market value because the shooting guard position is abmyssal in the NBA right now.

He is not an allstar at this point. This situation is a little bit like Joe Johnson to Atlanta.

For OKC I think Jeremy Lamb COULD be as good or better than Harden in the long run and Martin is not that much worse right now.

What this trade proves and what the Gordon offer sheet proved is simply this - rebuilding through free agency is absolutely foolish.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Jeez... Why not just hand the lakers the conference?

 

[D-Dogg]

You're in for a rude awakening... LA still matches up terribly with OKC. The Lakers need to pray someone else knocks OKC out, and even then, the Lakers complete lack of depth means they will have to stay miraculously healthy in order to make a real title push.

OKC should still be the heavy favorites in the West, but I think this really weakens them against Miami.

No, not even close to correct.

Lakers "complete lack of depth" is a myth. Jamison gives them the scoring punch off the bench they have lacked for years.

They matched up fine with OKC last year, but couldn't score in the last five minutes of the games...you think with Nash and Howard that is an issue now? Sorry bro, you are the one in for a rude awakening.

 

[D-Dogg]

Harden was terrible in the playoffs I don't think the Thunder will miss him that much and Kevin Martin is a good fit for them and Lamb very talented. I doubt they will be worse this year and should be better down the road.

Better down the road for sure, but worse this year. Kevin Martin is one dimensional and can't defend. Plays only the 2. Serious step back for this season, will be very tough in 2015 with the draft picks.

 

[KloD]

No, not even close to correct.

Lakers "complete lack of depth" is a myth. Jamison gives them the scoring punch off the bench they have lacked for years.

They matched up fine with OKC last year, but couldn't score in the last five minutes of the games...you think with Nash and Howard that is an issue now? Sorry bro, you are the one in for a rude awakening.

Are you forgetting Odem? You know, the 6th man of the year prior to Harden winning it. Yeah, that guy. Jamison is 36 years old, he can still score, but he is hardly going to bring what Odem did. After that, Lakers are very weak. If healthy I think the Lakers should be good, but OKC has not stepped that far back that they're conceding anything.

 

[KloD]

Harden may not be worth the max, but that is his market value, and very few players in this league are actually worth the max. I think he would have been a solid FA target. The Suns are very unlikely to draft someone even of his caliber in the draft, even with a high draft pick.

Martin's days in Houston were numbered (as they will be in OKC), but they still gave up a lottery rookie and two first rounders to get Harden. That's a lot, considering they could have waited until next summer.

I wonder if the Suns made an offer to OKC and who they are planning to target now.

Yep, I'm pretty certain the Suns brass were not happy to see this trade go down. I was wondering if they made an offer. I like Harden, but I don't think he's worth the max and assets. Not that the Suns have anything to offer at this point since most the team can't be traded until later in the year.

I'm wondering what the heck Houston is thinking? Lin, Harden, and Asik will total $45+ million in 2 years. That is hardly a solid core. I don't see them making the playoffs.

I just hope now the Suns don't panic and spend foolish. I also wonder if now they are reconsidering picking up Johnson's option?

 

[elindholm]

Lakers "complete lack of depth" is a myth. Jamison gives them the scoring punch off the bench they have lacked for years.

The Lakers have only four above-average players. True, some of them are far above average, and I think they are a very strong team, probably a contender. But they do indeed have a lack of depth. If you are a contender team and your 7th and 8th men would have a hard time cracking the rotation on a 50-win team, that is a lack of depth. (That said, I think that "depth" is overrated -- just look at how much "depth" last year's champion had.)

 

[SO91]

The Lakers have only four above-average players. True, some of them are far above average, and I think they are a very strong team, probably a contender. But they do indeed have a lack of depth. If you are a contender team and your 7th and 8th men would have a hard time cracking the rotation on a 50-win team, that is a lack of depth. (That said, I think that "depth" is overrated -- just look at how much "depth" last year's champion had.)

I somewhat agree that depth is overrated, but Miami also had Lebron making up for that lack of depth. Can anybody else do that?