James Harden gets 5 yr $80M from Houston

[action781]

https://twitter.com/WojYahooNBA/status/263722857018843136

Discuss.

I think this is destined to turn out very similar to Rudy Gay's contract.  Giving max money for a long time to a very good, but nowhere near max player.

[angryguy77]

Thats a lot of money for him. I guess they are paying him for his ability to turn invisible. His vanishing act during the finals was nothing short of amazing.

[Atzar]

I don't know what Houston is thinking.  He's never been more than the third-best player on a team.  Why are they paying him like he's the top dog?  And why are they paying him that money before he's even put on the uniform for them?

[Fafnir]

I don't know what Houston is thinking.  He's never been more than the third-best player on a team.  Why are they paying him like he's the top dog?  And why are they paying him that money before he's even put on the uniform for them?

Because you don't trade a TON of assets for a player and then suddenly decide to: "let the market sort things out in RFA" like the Knicks/Bulls did with Asik/Lin.

[action781]

I don't know what Houston is thinking.  He's never been more than the third-best player on a team.  Why are they paying him like he's the top dog?  And why are they paying him that money before he's even put on the uniform for them?

Because you don't trade a TON of assets for a player and then suddenly decide to: "let the market sort things out in RFA" like the Knicks/Bulls did with Asik/Lin.

Yeah, you risk losing a player when you don't negotiate early enough, but that still doesn't make it wise to throw fiscal prudence out the window.  How much more could Harden have gotten in RFA?

Nobody forced them to trade away all the assets for Harden.  If this was a premeditated decision to trade for him, then sign him to that deal, I think the entire decision was a very bad one.

[Fafnir]

I don't know what Houston is thinking.  He's never been more than the third-best player on a team.  Why are they paying him like he's the top dog?  And why are they paying him that money before he's even put on the uniform for them?

Because you don't trade a TON of assets for a player and then suddenly decide to: "let the market sort things out in RFA" like the Knicks/Bulls did with Asik/Lin.

Yeah, you risk losing a player when you don't negotiate early enough, but that still doesn't make it wise to throw fiscal prudence out the window.  How much more could Harden have gotten in RFA?

Nobody forced them to trade away all the assets for Harden.  If this was a premeditated decision to trade for him, then sign him to that deal, I think the entire decision was a very bad one.

He could have gotten 4 years and 60 million I believe, something like that.

[action781]

I don't know what Houston is thinking.  He's never been more than the third-best player on a team.  Why are they paying him like he's the top dog?  And why are they paying him that money before he's even put on the uniform for them?

Because you don't trade a TON of assets for a player and then suddenly decide to: "let the market sort things out in RFA" like the Knicks/Bulls did with Asik/Lin.

Yeah, you risk losing a player when you don't negotiate early enough, but that still doesn't make it wise to throw fiscal prudence out the window.  How much more could Harden have gotten in RFA?

Nobody forced them to trade away all the assets for Harden.  If this was a premeditated decision to trade for him, then sign him to that deal, I think the entire decision was a very bad one.

He could have gotten 4 years and 60 million I believe, something like that.

Which is less overall and yearly than what he just signed for...

[Fafnir]

I don't know what Houston is thinking.  He's never been more than the third-best player on a team.  Why are they paying him like he's the top dog?  And why are they paying him that money before he's even put on the uniform for them?

Because you don't trade a TON of assets for a player and then suddenly decide to: "let the market sort things out in RFA" like the Knicks/Bulls did with Asik/Lin.

Yeah, you risk losing a player when you don't negotiate early enough, but that still doesn't make it wise to throw fiscal prudence out the window.  How much more could Harden have gotten in RFA?

Nobody forced them to trade away all the assets for Harden.  If this was a premeditated decision to trade for him, then sign him to that deal, I think the entire decision was a very bad one.

He could have gotten 4 years and 60 million I believe, something like that.

Which is less overall and yearly than what he just signed for...

By a whole million dollars per year, not a savings that is worth immediately burning bridges with the player you trust traded for and called a franchise level guy publicly.

Not only that but at 23 the extra risk assumed via the fifth year isn't all that large.

[Boris Badenov]

I don't know what Houston is thinking.  He's never been more than the third-best player on a team.  Why are they paying him like he's the top dog?  And why are they paying him that money before he's even put on the uniform for them?

Being third-best on a team with Durant and Westbrook is nothing to sneeze at.

You could have said the same thing about Rondo at age 23.

[Fafnir]

I don't know what Houston is thinking.  He's never been more than the third-best player on a team.  Why are they paying him like he's the top dog?  And why are they paying him that money before he's even put on the uniform for them?

Being third-best on a team with Durant and Westbrook is nothing to sneeze at.

You could have said the same thing about Rondo at age 23.

I'm not sure he's notably "worse" than Westbrook. I have them as roughly equal level players.

[Who]

Harden is a max contract player. Good contract.

[kozlodoev]

I don't know what Houston is thinking.  He's never been more than the third-best player on a team.  Why are they paying him like he's the top dog?  And why are they paying him that money before he's even put on the uniform for them?

Being third-best on a team with Durant and Westbrook is nothing to sneeze at.

You could have said the same thing about Rondo at age 23.

Rondo signed for considerably less money.

[Boris Badenov]

I don't know what Houston is thinking.  He's never been more than the third-best player on a team.  Why are they paying him like he's the top dog?  And why are they paying him that money before he's even put on the uniform for them?

Being third-best on a team with Durant and Westbrook is nothing to sneeze at.

You could have said the same thing about Rondo at age 23.

I'm not sure he's notably "worse" than Westbrook. I have them as roughly equal level players.

I would agree in terms of my assessment of their abilities, but it is pretty clear that Westbrook had a bigger role on that team.

[Rondo2287]

Harden is a max contract player. Good contract.

I agree.  I think with him as a primary option on offense his numbers should get to around D-Wades. 

Im not saying he is as good, but I think the numbers should be similar. 

I think a 25 PPG, 5 RPG and 6 APG line shouldnt be out of the question

[Boris Badenov]

I don't know what Houston is thinking.  He's never been more than the third-best player on a team.  Why are they paying him like he's the top dog?  And why are they paying him that money before he's even put on the uniform for them?

Being third-best on a team with Durant and Westbrook is nothing to sneeze at.

You could have said the same thing about Rondo at age 23.

Rondo signed for considerably less money.

I wasn't comparing Rondo's abilities to Harden's. I'm just saying that "third best on a team" is kind of meaningless as a measure of ability.

I mean, the third-best player on Charlotte right now might be Kemba Walker.