Several league execs believe Presti could begin to explore trades for Harden...

[Kane3387]

... if Harden doesn't sign the extension.


Article from Woj.

If Harden doesn't sign the extension, several league executives believe Presti could begin to explore trades for Harden sooner than later. Most believe it would be riskier to overhaul the Thunder – a championship contender – near the Feb. 21 trade deadline because it's too close to the start of the playoffs.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--james-harden--thunder-continue-to-negotiate-contract-extension-27571809.html

Apparently OKC doesn't want to pay him more annually then Durant and Westbrook. The offered him 13 mill a year over 4 years. His agent shot it down. I think they get a deal done but they have less then a week to do so.

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

... if Harden doesn't sign the extension.


Article from Woj.

If Harden doesn't sign the extension, several league executives believe Presti could begin to explore trades for Harden sooner than later. Most believe it would be riskier to overhaul the Thunder – a championship contender – near the Feb. 21 trade deadline because it's too close to the start of the playoffs.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--james-harden--thunder-continue-to-negotiate-contract-extension-27571809.html

Apparently OKC doesn't want to pay him more annually then Durant and Westbrook. The offered him 13 mill a year over 4 years. His agent shot it down. I think they get a deal done but they have less then a week to do so.

I take that money, no other contender can sign or pay him that. Unless he is going to a bad team that will pay him more...

[rondohondo]

would much rather have Josh Smith. We already have Terry who has a very similar game as Harden and Bradley has the potential to be just as good as harden if not better.

Also Harden was horrible on the biggest stage of the NBA finals.

[hpantazo]

If I were Presti I would get Perry Jones III up to speed and show Harden the door for some salary relief and draft picks. After sucking in the finals he want to get paid more than Durant and Westbrook?

[Who]

If they can't reach an agreement, I would expect Presti to trade Harden. But I would be absolutely shocked if they failed to agree to a contract extension over the next few days.

[hpantazo]

If they can't reach an agreement, I would expect Presti to trade Harden. But I would be absolutely shocked if they failed to agree to a contract extension over the next few days.

What kind of value do you expect Presti to get in return if indeed Harden doesn't sign an extension?

[Who]

If they can't reach an agreement, I would expect Presti to trade Harden. But I would be absolutely shocked if they failed to agree to a contract extension over the next few days.

What kind of value do you expect Presti to get in return if indeed Harden doesn't sign an extension?

Harden is a restricted free agent. Easy to keep. I don't think it matters that he doesn't have a contract extension in place.

Given their salary concerns, I'd expect Presti to look for a player still on a rookie contract that has All-Star potential. Or for a very high draft pick in next years draft + some solid young (role) players.

Maybe there is a young star player on a $10-12 million per annum contract that Presti likes to finish off his OKC team. I can't think of anyone of the top of my head. I think a rookie contract or draft pick is more likely due to financial concerns.

[hpantazo]

If they can't reach an agreement, I would expect Presti to trade Harden. But I would be absolutely shocked if they failed to agree to a contract extension over the next few days.

What kind of value do you expect Presti to get in return if indeed Harden doesn't sign an extension?

Harden is a restricted free agent. Easy to keep. I don't think it matters that he doesn't have a contract extension in place.

Given their salary concerns, I'd expect Presti to look for a player still on a rookie contract that has All-Star potential. Or for a very high draft pick in next years draft + some solid young (role) players.

Maybe there is a young star player on a $10-12 million per annum contract that Presti likes to finish off his OKC team. I can't think of anyone of the top of my head. I think a rookie contract or draft pick is more likely due to financial concerns.

Hmm, sounds reasonable to me. I can't think of anyone in that range that I would be happy trading Harden for, but maybe Presti already has a few guys in mind.

[LarBrd33]

Presti will probably easily get 100 cents on the dollar for Harden.   There is a severe lack of all-star caliber shooting guards in this league right now.  I know that might seem hard to believe, but it's true.

You have Kobe and Wade... and then that's it.  Who else is there?  If you've played fantasy basketball you can back me up on this.  There's a lot of tiny guards who are basically point guards like Westbrook, Rose... even Ellis and Steph Curry.  Take look at the NBA efficiency rankings last year for guards:

http://www.nba.com/statistics/player/Efficiency.jsp?league=00&season=22011&conf=OVERALL&position=5&splitType=9&splitScope=GAME&qualified=N&yearsExp=-1&splitDD=

Efficiency = Points + rebounds + assists + steals + blocks ... subtract missed shots and turnovers. 

... After Kobe and Wade... who is the next best shooting guard?  Surprise... it's Harden despite the fact he came off the bench most of the time and his team already has two BIG TIME scorers.  Crazy, isn't it??  After that, you maybe have Joe Johnson and Eric Gordon.  It's rough out there.

He's also 6-5 and 220 which means he's got legit size for the position (not a terry/bradley-esque 6'2 180 pound midget).

He's 23 years old.  That means a team like Atlanta who is likely to lose Josh Smith... they'd probably gladly trade Smith for Harden.  That means a team like Utah who has Favors and Kanter as their future bigs... probably doesn't hesitate for a second at trading Big Al for Harden. 

OKC will get something major for Harden.  Probably a star-caliber big man (maybe they'll dump Perks contract in the process) or a young stud still locked into a rookie contract for a while. 

[SHAQATTACK]

rather have Josh Smith . Lee , Terry and Bradley will do fine thank you

[PaulPierce34G]

... if Harden doesn't sign the extension.


Article from Woj.

If Harden doesn't sign the extension, several league executives believe Presti could begin to explore trades for Harden sooner than later. Most believe it would be riskier to overhaul the Thunder – a championship contender – near the Feb. 21 trade deadline because it's too close to the start of the playoffs.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--james-harden--thunder-continue-to-negotiate-contract-extension-27571809.html

Apparently OKC doesn't want to pay him more annually then Durant and Westbrook. The offered him 13 mill a year over 4 years. His agent shot it down. I think they get a deal done but they have less then a week to do so.

I hate these agents.  I mean in some regard they are good because lots of these players don't fully understand the legality of these contracts and agents do provide a helpful service to the players by getting them the best deal they possibly can, but at the same time 13 million/season over 4 years?  That's 52 million and I'm sure there are some incentives here and there.  Harden is certainly one of the main components of that OKC squad, but he is not 'the' main guy.  He should just accept it...it isn't like they are low-balling him and offering only 6 or 7 million a year, and he is still in his early 20's....He will have, at the very least, 2 more long-term deals in his career.  I think 13 million is more than fair.

At the end of the day, the agent is just looking to make as much money for himself as he possibly can because clearly he will get a nice cut of Harden's money as payment for his services. 

[hpantazo]

well, this could potentially hurt whatever chances we may have of getting Josh Smith

[LarBrd33]

Yeah I'm gonna guess they trade Perk (8.3 mil) + Harden (5.8 mil) for an allstar big man making 13-15 mil. 

Worst case is someone like Josh Smith or Big Al.  I'm sure the Knicks would wet their pants at the chance to dump Amare.

[RJ87]

Call me crazy, but I think $50 over 4 yrs is a really good offer for James Harden... The kid can play, but I don't think he's a max caliber player. To me, a max guy is - or should be - a guy that you can have as a #1 or #2 option and build a successful team around. I just can't Harden fits that bill. I see him as a 3rd option on a title contender, and a 1st or 2nd option on borderline playoff team.

[Who]

That means a team like Utah who has Favors and Kanter as their future bigs... probably doesn't hesitate for a second at trading Big Al for Harden. 

Yeah, that would be really interesting. Give OKC that young low post option to add to their squad.

Or maybe Paul Millsap and Gordon Hayward for Harden. I think Hayward would be really good sandwiched in between Westbrook and Durant. Millsap would be a force off the bench.