Let me start out by saying that starting a thread on this site is unusual for me. But with the current number of stank it up threads on CF I should be in good company. Not to mention the incredible number of moronic Harden trade comments out there. To start I would like to ask a couple of questions: Is there any proven NBA player out there, short of LBJ, that you would prefer to sign to a multi-year contract? Kevin Love? Other than that my mind comes up empty. Young, injury free, top 5 at their position, odds on favorite to be the best SG in the NBA in 2 years. How could you ask for more???? Does Harden depend on Durant and Westbrook to be as good as he is? If you look at the stats the answer is hell no. Numerous stats back me up so just 1 for you: Harden averaged 29 points per 36 while Westbrook was off the floor. Does Harden make the Rockets a contender? Of course not. Would even LBJ make the Rockets a contender? Debatable. Maybe. But he is the only one, and he is not walking through the front door any time soon so get over it. Is Harden worth a max contract? Of course. He certainly is top 4 at SG and everyone ahead of him is like old. I have heard that at least 5 teams would be willing to offer him a max, so this question should not ever be asked again. Didn't he completely choke last year in the NBA finals? Perhaps, but that is pretty much par for the course. A relevant comparison would be LBJ. He pretty much has stank it up in the big series until last year. And that series is a one off for both. Didn't we give up to much? If you are thinking that then click your ass together and say 3 times ..., Martin - would be gone at the trade deadline for a mid to low first round draft pick, Lamb - some potential there, but if you believe that he would ever reach Hardens level I have a bridge to sell you, Toronto's pick - probable playoff team in the East, gonna have to sit on your thumb for awhile, Mavs pick - this side of worthless. I was going to share some of my opinions on the rotation effectiveness of the Rockets next year, but for now this is enough.
So where are all the Debby Downers? I would have expected more than a few people to vehemently disagree given the tone of the Harden thread comments. Are they just overwhelmed by the force of my arguments? I would doubt it.
Great post. Reasonable and well thought. The statement that he will be one of if not the best SG in the NBA in the next couple of years makes you recognize that the max deal is even more worth it.
Let me think about that... here is my list: Kevin Durant Russell Westbrook Dwight Howard Deron Williams CP3 Blake Griffin D. Rose D. Wade K. Love Well, the list is shorter than I thought... good trade, but we will need to make at least one other major move before we can call us contenders...
You shouldn't underrate what we gave up. Lamb, the Toronto pick, and the Mavericks pick have high potential. James Harden is the superior piece, imo, because we know what he brings (somewhat) and he also brings star potential, but OKC got a good deal.
I agree wholeheartedly. This is one of the trades that both teams got what they needed. OKC desperately needed not to go into the luxury tax if nothing else.
I was pacing around forming my response, but you beat me to it. You nailed it. No matter what, we all agree on some level including LikeMike. It is a very short list.
We got the guy we would tank for without tanking. Basically a 1-2 year jumpstart on the rebuild. That being said, it's still a ways before we're contenders, but the future is brighter than previously especially if a high-upside guy like Dmo pans out or if we can somehow snag a guy like LMA from the Blazers if they decide to tank and for Shabazz/Zeller.
The debbie downers will always find something to criticize, they won't ever be satisfied.. even if we somehow got LBJ in some trade they'll say something like oh he only won because of Wade and Bosh.
I like this. It's just a 1-2 year bridge before we are legitimate contenders if we continue to play our cards right. And the thought of taking Aldridge off the Blazers hands is highly intriguing.
If one of PPat/D-mo/Jones steps up to a top 50 player, the future will be very very bright. There is finally a possible scenario where the Rockets can be contenders in the next couple of years. Harden be Harden. Lin approach Linsanity (but he does not have to achieve it). Parsons develops a 39% 3 point FG accuracy. And the emergence of a top 50 PF. Not to mention the max contract cap room. We shall see.
It takes a lot to be contenders, I mean.... K love and rubio, fun to watch but until i see it, still lottery bound. CPflop and Blake, that team is the same team Cpflop left in N.O with more alley ooops and flops. D-will! lmao. Maybe his eliteness will win them 30 games this year. Of course we will need more to contend. For starters where can we find a forward that can score and play intense D?
I like the trade and I'm glad we made it but for anybody that's going to say that Lamb is going to be a bust is just stupid. He may be a bust but there is a good chance that he is going to be a good player.