James Harden Traded To Rockets. REACTION!!! (merged)

[chambers]

I think the Rockets did very well. You gave up a few picks, and it hurts a little to lose Lamb, but you have just acquired probably the 3rd best shooting guard in the NBA behind Kobe and Wade, in the process you dumped K Mart and his horrid game. He scores 18 ppg but he has such horrid shot selection. Bonafied chucker that wasn't taking that team anywhere.
If you took Lamb, and those picks that you gave up and watched them all play develop over 6-7 years, you might get lucky enough to develop a player as good as Harden. You have a guaranteed 20 ppg and a great defender (dunno what people are ragging on his defense for- have people seen him vs Kobe and Wade?)
As a Celtics fan I'd love to have him as our Shooting guard. If all fails the Rox can sign and trade him where he wants to go and probably get something half decent in return.
Only thing I'm concerned about is Lin taking too many possessions from Harden like Westbrook did.
Does Lin pass enough to make Harden as effective as possible?

Having two smart, aggressive guards like Harden and Lin will also give great leadership to their core for years to come.
I wonder what else Morey has in store...

I don't mind it for OKC too but I just hope they don't expect too much from Lamb. He looks very lost out there at the moment. His summer league was nice but pre season he looks like a Celtics Gerald Green- in way too deep.

*Grabs popcorn*

[chambers]

 Are you kidding me? After seeing the details. Two first round picks, Kevin Martin, who has had three seasons of over 23 points per game. While hardens best is 16.8 PPG.
 Jeremy Lamb who I think is going to  be a starter in this league, and a 2nd rounder for A good 6th man. This is a wim all the way around for Presti. He's good.

All of what Presti got is unproven, except for Martin, who is not anywhere close to James Harden in terms of ability.

OKC is worse off.

Agree 100% that Presti's haul is unproven but in the long term I dunno if they are that worse off.
They didn't want to pay Harden max money and this is an okay outcome to avoid that.

[mctyson]

Not quite sure why everyone thinks OKC took a step back. That team is still LOADED with talent. Kevin Martin is no scrub, he can score and should thrive with defenses focusing in on Durant and Westbrook. He's not the facilitator that Harden is, but they're getting Eric Maynor back this year will alleviate that with the 2nd unit.

If the Spurs traded Manu near his peak as a player, would that have set them back?  Because that is what OKC just did.

There are two ways of looking at this trade. 

First, the reality:  OKC was probably never going to resign Harden long term.  They could have played this year out, go for another title run, and then dealt Harden next summer.  That is like knowing your marriage isn't going to survive, but putting off divorce for one more year just so you can save more money and sell your house at a higher price.  There is no guarantee that outcome will happen, just like there is no guarantee that OKC would get back to the Finals.  The fact is that OKC is selling Harden high.  I don't disagree with making the move now, but OKC in the near term is a worse team for it.

Second:  OKC also is clearly assembling pieces to make another major move to add to Durant + Westbrook.  You don't resign Ibaka and establish your young core, then trade away one of the biggest pieces to that core for a nice veteran swingman (Martin), an unproven mid-tier rookie (Lamb), and draft picks.  Those of you on this board who are arguing that Martin replaces Harden are insane.  Harden was a former Top-5 pick, 6th man of the year, and a member of our Olympic squad (you know, the team MVP Rondo didn't make!)  Harden, quite simply, is one of the best young veteran basketball players ON THE PLANET.  Kevin Martin cannot hold his underwear.  Thus, it is clear to me that OKC is assembling pieces to add another top-level NBA player to Durant+Westbrook+Ibaka, while in the mean time trying to compete with Martin as a decent filler.

All in all - OKC is not a finished product.  And it is sad that their Big Three had to be dismantled because Presti go hoodwinked by Danny Ainge in the Perkins trade.

[Roy H.]

Kevin Martin is productive, but he's also extremely fragile and soft.

If Presti was going to move Harden, I guess this isn't terrible value.  However, the Rockets came out ahead here, because they got a young, star-level player in his prime, and didn't have to give up any true building blocks to do so.

[Celts Fan 92]

lol @ people thinkin Cole Aldrich will make an impact he's trade filler nd a bust he looked terrible nd clueless in summerleadue nd he;s like 3-4 years in it just aint happening. nd for those talmbout Martin cant take Harden's playmaker role they have Eric Maynor there Martin can flex his scoring machine position off da bench

1) Isn't Cole Aldrich only 2 years in? You never heard of a big man taking 3 years to develop?

2) I'm not sure you grasp how important Harden was. He was their best playmaker. They replaced him with 2 traditional 2's, scorers.

1) i just dont see it happening he was at kansas for 4 years he shouldnt look dis below average for a lottery pick

2) wit Maynor back nd Reggie Jackson's improved play Harden who was being Greedy is expendable. Martin can average 17ppg like Harden did lol

[cman88]

But, if the line of thinking is OKC wants to get another star to pair with , why did they trade someone who WAS a star

honestly, I think most people are thinking of the Harden they last saw when thinking of this trade..the guy who choked in the finals.

BUT, they forget he is one of the best shooting guards in the league, and essentially was OKC's point guard when he was in the game..

I think in the short-term, OKC gets worse, and in the long term who knows how Lamb or even their draft picks will turn out? you are trading a young allstar shooting guard for "unproven chips"

[cman88]

essentially, OKC traded a young all-star calibar shooting guard for "unproven" pieces.

its very possible those pieces "could" be stars, but its also very possible they don't pan out to be anything

OKC is worse off today because of this move

[Redz]

great this opens the door for green or terry to win 6th man of the year

Good point.

Gerald?

No one's buying what I'm selling.

[bdm860]

I wonder how Harden feels about this.

1) You have a guy who was clearly a big hit and a huge fan favorite with the OKC fans.


2) It looks like Harden, Westbrook, and Durant all got along very well.  Good chemistry, no jealousy, no complaints about shots, starting, etc.

3) He left one of the most popular teams in the league and a championship contender.

So I wonder how the conversations went between Harden and his agent?  Did Harden say get me the best deal you can but I want to stay with OKC?  Or did Harden just say, get me max money, it doesn't matter where?  I know a lot of players just want max money, but it seems like Harden was in such a great situation, you would understandably take a little less to stay there.

[nickagneta]

Why do I get the feeling this sets things up perfectly for Harden to become a Laker in a couple years? Not sure after tasting the Finals and being on a competitive team since entering the league that he will sign long term in Houston.

[greg_kite]

I can understand trading Harden before hit salary skyrockets but there wan't a better trade they could get than Kevin Martin and draft picks?  This is horrible for OKC.  Player like Harden don't come around often.

He is good enough that they should have been able to include him in a package with Perk to get a better center or power forward.

Harden and Perk for Josh Smith and filler would have made more sense.  While it might help OKC in the future they threw away a chance to be a championship team now.  It clearly drops them a notch.

[Who]

Oklahoma should be able to re-sign Kevin Martin for $8-10 million per annum.

[nickagneta]

Oklahoma should be able to re-sign Kevin Martin for $8-10 million per annum.

If Lamb develops, I see them moving Martin later in the season.

[Who]

Oklahoma should be able to re-sign Kevin Martin for $8-10 million per annum.

If Lamb develops, I see them moving Martin later in the season.

I would be surprised if Lamb gets it together that quickly. I can imagine this happening a year or two down the road but I would be shocked if it happened this year.

Very tough for a rookie (late lotto pick, mid first rounder) to play well enough to discard a player like Kevin Martin.

I read some comments from McHale on Lamb about a week ago. It didn't sound like Lamb was ready to contribute to the Rockets this season. Made Lamb out as very inexperienced and had a lot to learn before he was ready to help. Sounded more like a multi-year project than a guy ready to make an impact this season.

[RebusRankin]

I like this move for both teams. For OKC, Martin is a solid replacement for Harden, you get the young SG in Lamb plus two picks.

For Houston, you get a very nice SG although I suspect they end up overpaying.