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That seems... odd. Did Harden have at ude problems (when it came to his own team)?
Adrian Wojnarowski @WojYahooNBA
Houston plans to give James Harden a four year, $60 million extension once deal is completed, league sources tell Y! Sports.
Well, Harden will get what he wanted.
That seems... odd. Did Harden have at ude problems (when it came to his own team)?
We're still a long-shot, but:
Another good reason just to go to Rockets games to root against them.
WoW. That was unexpected and quick. The new CBA is certainly a big reason of that trade which is paradoxical given that it should affect mainly big market teams.
Thunder got a good return for harden with a solid player, a good prospect and picks. Saying that, they are now weaker and will especially miss Harden playmaking skills. The ball will be even more in Westbrook hands which could turn problematic with his relatively poor BBIQ.
And lol Rockets. Welcome back to the 9th seed in the west. I guess they will never learn how to rebuild a team.
Spurs should now focus even more on the Lakers and looking at available 7 footers. It's too a 2 for 4 (2 for 3 because Hayward sucks) for Houston which mean that the players they will cut to reach the 15 max roster limit should be even more interesting. Spurs should closely follow the waiver wire in the next couple of days.
That looks like a pretty smart trade for OKC. Of course, the chemistry of a team will be a concern when trades like this happen. One never knows for sure how new players will mesh. The Thunder will hope that Thabo stays healthy. Otherwise, their defense will take a step back with this deal.
Wow, great news for the Spurs. The Spurs beat the Thunder last season if they had Kevin Martin instead of Harden. Having Harden living up to the Ginobili 2.0 hype is a big reason why the spurs lost. Sure, he crashed and burned against the Heat but he gave the Spurs fits and there was no real reason to believe the Spurs would have figured him out this year.
The Spurs chances now just got a lot better. In fact, a healthy Spurs team is probably back to being a coinflip against OKC.
Awesome news
this clown just pulled a joe johnson hahahaha
not only he wants max contract,,i think he wants to be franchise player
Harden and Martin are both extremely adept at getting to the line and both provide scoring energy. Harden is clearly a better defender.
speaking of which i dont think it hurts the thunder roster, aint they stacked? they still have some quality on the bench that was injured in the playoffs last season...maynor?
@DLHQ: Sam Presti: "I am the one who knocks."
Holy , this was unexpected
The more I think of this move, the more I love in from the Spurs perspective. I'm not concerned about Kevin Martin at all. He's fragile, extremely one-dimensional (is only a scorer), doesn't create for others, poor defender, below average everywhere else. Great scorer who is amazingly efficient ... but, tbh, they already have that in Durant.
Harden, on the other hand, was as Manu-esque in terms of being able to do it all. Great feel for the game, played a smart brand of basketball and come the fourth quarter his ability to get to the line made it really difficult to stay close with the Thunder. On top of that, he fit in perfectly in the sixth man role and the chemistry next to Durant and Russell Westbrook seemed near perfect (at least against the Spurs).
Speaking of Westbrook, Parker and Co. pretty much shut him down last year in the playoffs ... especially if you compare what Westbrook did against the Spurs to what he did against the other three opponents OKC met in the playoffs. If the Spurs can continue to contain Westbrook, they just need to find a way to slow down Durant a little bit to really match up well against the Thunder now.
As great as Durant was in the playoffs, I really thought it was Harden's all around play that doomed the Spurs. We knew that Durant was going to be great ... but Harden playing near a Ginobili-in-his-prime level was the straw that broke the camel's back.
I can see what OKC was thinking in this trade and this move won't hurt them too much in other matchups (it might even help them against the Heat) but this deal is a huge win for the Spurs. The Spurs can figure out a way to combat Kevin Martin. Harden was a totally different beast just because he basically negated Ginobili and the Spurs had/have nothing to throw at him.
Thanks Presti
I honestly did not see this coming! It's interesting that after making the finals with Harden last season, the Thunder are not standing pat, by trading him and getting some new players and all...
Still wish we'd make a move for somebody! Nande de Colo alone isn't satisfying enough for an offseason. Hopefully the FO suprises us and reels in a good 4 that we've been waiting for...
Houston also sent two 2013 first-round picks (from Dallas and Toronto) to Oklahoma City, sources told Y! Sports, as well as a 2013 second-round pick (via Charlotte). The Thunder will receive the Toronto pick this year if it's slotted Nos. 4-14. That pick also is top-three protected in 2014, top-two protected in 2015 and top-one protected in 2016.
Per Woj
I think this is Presti taking a step back to take two steps forward. With their cap situation, keeping Harden was going to be expensive(Way over the cap/Tax) With this, they can keep Lamb and the talent from 2 picks later to replenish stocks that leave due to being too expensive(Maynor could go, might replace depth bigs etc). They're weaker this year, but it was a long term, strategic decision.
I kind of like it for both teams. Harden was a max guy at his low usage, and even with some drop off in efficiency with an increased role he can still probably go 60% TS, Which is the same ridiculous level as Durant. Rockets bundled up depth for a star, which suits them.
Good for us too. We have a limited window, and a better chance this year helps alot(Who cares about in 5 years, We're not contending then anyway)
I don't even think OKC was interested in Martin other than clearing up $14 million at the end of the season which will let them extend Sefolosha and keep Maynor. They get a 4-14 pick in the next draft to boot. Sure, it cost them Harden, but they couldn't pay him anyways. Good move by Presti, IMO.
Those are some nice picks Presti is getting in this deal ... but like jesterbobman pointed out, the Spurs will gladly accept a weaker Thunder team now even if it means a much stronger Thunder team down the line. The Spurs will be rebuilding by the time those assets ripen.
Good long-term move, but this improves the Spurs' chances at winning it all.
Pop and RC better move for a decent 4, preferably including Bonner in the deal.
Don't necessarily disagree, but Durant is only getting better too, which is a scary thought, tbh
So the Spurs are now WCF exits at best. Until the team gets a decent backup PF, I don't believe they will get higher than that.
Pop seems content with another year of Bonner/Blair.
Somewhere right now Seattle sonic fans are rejoicing.
It should also be scary for Durant because now OKC's fourth quarter point guard plays for the Rockets. Having to rely on Westbrook to make the right plays in money time (AKA pass it to Durant) won't be fun.
But, like always, at the end of the day this helps the Lakers the most. (As if they needed more help after the summer they had) They are now the heavy favorite in the West. I really do think this knocks the Thunder down from the top with the Lakers to on the same pedestal with a completely healthy Spurs team.
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