How would people have felt if we ended up getting Harden for Perk?

[indeedproceed]

Ainge was pushing for Harden in that deal (I've heard from more than one source) and when he couldn't get him, he should have backed away from the table

Everyone just sit down for a moment and imagine if this happened.

shh...shh...just sit back, relax, and imagine our reserve swingman hitting 17 ppg on 46% shooting and 38% from deep, with 4 boards and 4 assists and solid defense.

Shhh...shh...just...imagine....


How's that feel for everyone?.....yes, I'm sad now too.

Eh, I agree that Harden probably had more 'potential' at the time of the trade, but Green has pretty much put up those same numbers you list above every year since 08-09 (add a couple rebounds, minus a couple of assists)...and then he came to the Celtics. I get that his defense isn't quite as tenacious and he may out think himself more than Harden, but at the time of the trade, we needed a back up forward more than a sg and Green was as solid as ever.

And if Harden is a top 5 sg in the league, then that is a pretty sad state of affairs for that position.

Actually, not true. Well, true in that they look kind of similar on the surface, but look here:

http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/pcm_finder.cgi?request=1&sum=0&p1=hardeja01&y1=2012&p2=greenje02&y2=2010

Harden's year this seasons so far compared to Green's last full season as a starter for OKC.

Harden absolutely blows him away. Green did his damage as a full-time starter at 37 minutes a game. Harden is doing it from the bench at only 30 minutes a game, and is approximately twice as efficient a player by advanced metrics.

If James Harden were on this team right now, all that crying and worrying about the future, and whether they can move forward with rondo, etc...would be mitigated to a whimper. If we had Rondo, Harden, and all that cap space, I think that not only would Dwight Howard be far less of a pipe dream, we'd be close to the front-runners. Rondo-Harden-Pierce-?-Howard is a dream come true.

[Marcus13]

Much better. He's no Ray Allen but he shoots the rock well and his defense is awesome.  There is a reason they were trying to push Jeff Green's low IQ on us.

[wdleehi]

It would be a lot better right now.

[Cman]

Great!
... but, we didn't.
Water under the bridge at this point, and time to move forward.

[PosImpos]

Like okc made a terrible trade.

[kozlodoev]

Much better. He's no Ray Allen but he shoots the rock well and his defense is awesome.  There is a reason they were trying to push Jeff Green's low IQ on us.

Yeah, they were absolutely positive that he'll have to have heart surgery in less than a year

[vinnie]

It would have been easier to accept the trade. Harden > Green.

[Marcus13]

Much better. He's no Ray Allen but he shoots the rock well and his defense is awesome.  There is a reason they were trying to push Jeff Green's low IQ on us.

Yeah, they were absolutely positive that he'll have to have heart surgery in less than a year

Nah, I was referring to his low basketball IQ

[jambr380]

Ainge was pushing for Harden in that deal (I've heard from more than one source) and when he couldn't get him, he should have backed away from the table

Everyone just sit down for a moment and imagine if this happened.

shh...shh...just sit back, relax, and imagine our reserve swingman hitting 17 ppg on 46% shooting and 38% from deep, with 4 boards and 4 assists and solid defense.

Shhh...shh...just...imagine....


How's that feel for everyone?.....yes, I'm sad now too.

Eh, I agree that Harden probably had more 'potential' at the time of the trade, but Green has pretty much put up those same numbers you list above every year since 08-09 (add a couple rebounds, minus a couple of assists)...and then he came to the Celtics. I get that his defense isn't quite as tenacious and he may out think himself more than Harden, but at the time of the trade, we needed a back up forward more than a sg and Green was as solid as ever.

And if Harden is a top 5 sg in the league, then that is a pretty sad state of affairs for that position.

Actually, not true. Well, true in that they look kind of similar on the surface, but look here:

http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/pcm_finder.cgi?request=1&sum=0&p1=hardeja01&y1=2012&p2=greenje02&y2=2010

Harden's year this seasons so far compared to Green's last full season as a starter for OKC.

Harden absolutely blows him away. Green did his damage as a full-time starter at 37 minutes a game. Harden is doing it from the bench at only 30 minutes a game, and is approximately twice as efficient a player by advanced metrics.

If James Harden were on this team right now, all that crying and worrying about the future, and whether they can move forward with rondo, etc...would be mitigated to a whimper. If we had Rondo, Harden, and all that cap space, I think that not only would Dwight Howard be far less of a pipe dream, we'd be close to the front-runners. Rondo-Harden-Pierce-?-Howard is a dream come true.

Thanks for providing that information. I see what you mean, but am not sold on Harden as a superstar yet. The sample size is fairly small (13 games) and I don't know that Harden would have done all that more damage than Green did last year.

I will certainly keep an eye on Harden and he looks like he has a solid future, but saying that a healthy Harden being here instead of a healthy Green is the difference between Howard coming here or not is really a stretch. They would both probably be playing fairly similar roles on this year's team (with Ray and Paul still here). It's really just unfortunate that Green had a serious life-threatening heart problem.

[Who]

I would be delighted but OKC never would have done it.

[indeedproceed]

Thanks for providing that information. I see what you mean, but am not sold on Harden as a superstar yet. The sample size is fairly small (13 games) and I don't know that Harden would have done all that more damage than Green did last year.

I will certainly keep an eye on Harden and he looks like he has a solid future, but saying that a healthy Harden being here instead of a healthy Green is the difference between Howard coming here or not is really a stretch. They would both probably be playing fairly similar roles on this year's team (with Ray and Paul still here). It's really just unfortunate that Green had a serious life-threatening heart problem.

I didn't say he would be the difference. I said a Rondo/Harden foundation would put us among the frontrunners.

It should anyways. There wouldn't be a better pairing out there for him.

Vastly underrating Harden. Jeff Green is....a flawed player without a real position as of right now. Harden has been improving at a seemingly exponential rate from the beginning of last season, to the Jeff Green trade, to the playoffs, and into this season.

James Harden is a complete player, and the only SG's I'd take in front of him going into the future are Dwyane Wade and...Dwyane Wade. Dwight Howard knows this.

[hpantazo]

Thanks for providing that information. I see what you mean, but am not sold on Harden as a superstar yet. The sample size is fairly small (13 games) and I don't know that Harden would have done all that more damage than Green did last year.

I will certainly keep an eye on Harden and he looks like he has a solid future, but saying that a healthy Harden being here instead of a healthy Green is the difference between Howard coming here or not is really a stretch. They would both probably be playing fairly similar roles on this year's team (with Ray and Paul still here). It's really just unfortunate that Green had a serious life-threatening heart problem.

I didn't say he would be the difference. I said a Rondo/Harden foundation would put us among the frontrunners.

It should anyways. There wouldn't be a better pairing out there for him.

Vastly underrating Harden. Jeff Green is....a flawed player without a real position as of right now. Harden has been improving at a seemingly exponential rate from the beginning of last season, to the Jeff Green trade, to the playoffs, and into this season.

James Harden is a complete player, and the only SG's I'd take in front of him going into the future are Dwyane Wade and...Dwyane Wade. Dwight Howard knows this.

that's a huge assumption, considering Dwight Howard was the one who wanted Glen Davis on his team, I don't assume he knows anything about who is better at any position.

[indeedproceed]

Thanks for providing that information. I see what you mean, but am not sold on Harden as a superstar yet. The sample size is fairly small (13 games) and I don't know that Harden would have done all that more damage than Green did last year.

I will certainly keep an eye on Harden and he looks like he has a solid future, but saying that a healthy Harden being here instead of a healthy Green is the difference between Howard coming here or not is really a stretch. They would both probably be playing fairly similar roles on this year's team (with Ray and Paul still here). It's really just unfortunate that Green had a serious life-threatening heart problem.

I didn't say he would be the difference. I said a Rondo/Harden foundation would put us among the frontrunners.

It should anyways. There wouldn't be a better pairing out there for him.

Vastly underrating Harden. Jeff Green is....a flawed player without a real position as of right now. Harden has been improving at a seemingly exponential rate from the beginning of last season, to the Jeff Green trade, to the playoffs, and into this season.

James Harden is a complete player, and the only SG's I'd take in front of him going into the future are Dwyane Wade and...Dwyane Wade. Dwight Howard knows this.

that's a huge assumption, considering Dwight Howard was the one who wanted Glen Davis on his team, I don't assume he knows anything about who is better at any position.

Ha, they're buddies. Notice he got Glen Davis and yet still hasn't signed an extension or anything.

[jambr380]

Thanks for providing that information. I see what you mean, but am not sold on Harden as a superstar yet. The sample size is fairly small (13 games) and I don't know that Harden would have done all that more damage than Green did last year.

I will certainly keep an eye on Harden and he looks like he has a solid future, but saying that a healthy Harden being here instead of a healthy Green is the difference between Howard coming here or not is really a stretch. They would both probably be playing fairly similar roles on this year's team (with Ray and Paul still here). It's really just unfortunate that Green had a serious life-threatening heart problem.

I didn't say he would be the difference. I said a Rondo/Harden foundation would put us among the frontrunners.

It should anyways. There wouldn't be a better pairing out there for him.

Vastly underrating Harden. Jeff Green is....a flawed player without a real position as of right now. Harden has been improving at a seemingly exponential rate from the beginning of last season, to the Jeff Green trade, to the playoffs, and into this season.

James Harden is a complete player, and the only SG's I'd take in front of him going into the future are Dwyane Wade and...Dwyane Wade. Dwight Howard knows this.

Maybe I am underrating Harden, but I think most Celtics fans underrate Green because they really only saw him play here (where he didn't much fit in). He was an important player for several seasons in OKC and, at the time of the trade, was a more impactful player than Harden in OKC. I get that Harden has taken on an increased role and is showing his value, but Green was very good before he came here and was totally confused.

I am also just not so sure if we would know how good Harden was if he were. Would he be playing as well?

[indeedproceed]

Thanks for providing that information. I see what you mean, but am not sold on Harden as a superstar yet. The sample size is fairly small (13 games) and I don't know that Harden would have done all that more damage than Green did last year.

I will certainly keep an eye on Harden and he looks like he has a solid future, but saying that a healthy Harden being here instead of a healthy Green is the difference between Howard coming here or not is really a stretch. They would both probably be playing fairly similar roles on this year's team (with Ray and Paul still here). It's really just unfortunate that Green had a serious life-threatening heart problem.

I didn't say he would be the difference. I said a Rondo/Harden foundation would put us among the frontrunners.

It should anyways. There wouldn't be a better pairing out there for him.

Vastly underrating Harden. Jeff Green is....a flawed player without a real position as of right now. Harden has been improving at a seemingly exponential rate from the beginning of last season, to the Jeff Green trade, to the playoffs, and into this season.

James Harden is a complete player, and the only SG's I'd take in front of him going into the future are Dwyane Wade and...Dwyane Wade. Dwight Howard knows this.

Maybe I am underrating Harden, but I think most Celtics fans underrate Green because they really only saw him play here (where he didn't much fit in). He was an important player for several seasons in OKC and, at the time of the trade, was a more impactful player than Harden in OKC. I get that Harden has taken on an increased role and is showing his value, but Green was very good before he came here and was totally confused.

Green looked terrible here. Just absolutely terrible.

But, he didn't look that great in OKC either. Very shoddy defense against PF's. Among the worst in the league. He's pretty good defending 3s though, but his outside shooting is so spotty, that offensively he's gotta venture inside the arc.

The reason why OKC traded him, and not Harden, is that they knew all this, and they knew that Green's best position was the one they didn't have any minutes to spare at.

I am also just not so sure if we would know how good Harden was if he were. Would he be playing as well?

Eh?