Although I'm loathe to start another J. Harden thread, I believe this topic may deserve some attention. After letting this sink in a bit and getting past my excitement about Lamb, I believe in a few years we'll all look back at this as the greatest trade in Rockets history. Although as a U of H alum I always loved bringing Drexler home. Why is this the best? How many times do teams get the opportunity to trade for ascending YOUNG stars? VERY rarely. James Harden IS the best young SG in the league and within the next two years will probably be the best SG period. From Morey's moneyball perspective he is a slam dunk (see other threads for details). He's had two years of growing as the top guy off the bench and spent the summer going up against top international teams with the best players in the world as his teammates. He's got play-off and Final experience. Although he had a rough Finals, it was only his second year and first Finals--let's give him a break. I believe he's primed to break-out and be competing for the scoring title by 2014. Adding him to the young nucleus of Lin, Asik, Parsons, Pat, Jones, DMo, etc. is VERY exciting. Harden will take the pressure off Lin and make him even better. He will also add an element that should allow Parsons and our PFs more easy opportunities. Acquiring James Harden at age 23 will give us the ability to attract another super star, especially after we prove this season that we're a good TEAM. What we gave up was peanuts, compared to the potential ROI... - Martin was gone after this year and while he was playing well, we maximized his value. - Lamb is an interesting prospect, but needs some time to develop--I don't see him ever being in JH's category. - Toronto Pick--they're playing better so this pick may not be that high. In any case, getting JH is a bird in the hand vs the potential of a rookie. - Dallas Pick--a huge gamble for OKC; better them than us. - 2nd Rd Pick--Ok, not likely he could make this team next year. Morey turned a proven short-term vet (Martin), a promising rookie and some #1s into a legit superstar candidate who is only 23! So I'll predict that this becomes the best trade in Rocket history. Maybe I eat my words in a few years, but for now--I'm really excited about our future. Agree/Disagree?
I think the trade for Drexler was better in that it ultimately led to another championship. Also looking back, the McGrady trade was an absolute steal for the Rockets
Clyde the Glyde ranks a lot higher in my book. This is an ok trade right now. It can get better in due time, but the Clyde trade was a hell of lot better.
This trade is getting a LOT more hate and whining than I think it merits already, so this thread is somewhat ironic. But that being said - it can't be judged fairly until a few years down the road. How is it supposed to compete with trades that, in hindsight, sent us deep into the playoffs?
Seeing what happened to Francis makes the Mcgrady trade the best, even with the injuries and lack of playoff success.
22 in a row and 13 in 35 are pretty damn close to actual playoff victories. I'd rank the McGrady trade up there as well...
Clyde the Glyde trade ranks higher. No 2nd championship without it IMO. All trades take years to really see the effect. No way you can even begin to rank this trade.
The best trade for a long long time? No doubt. The best trade ever? Slightly possible, but let us talk about it in 3 years.
I wouldn't say that, but what I like about this trade: there was no great anticipation for it like the dwightmare. This trade just happened. No warning at all! No sleepless nights wondering when or if a deal was going through. No heartaches at all, lol. I honestly thought that our team was set for the year, and then this happens out of the blue. I would've never expected this without some kind of long, dragged out wait. Man I'm excited. Now hopefully some of these fans can stop being so down and negative all the time!
At this point this trade is no better or worse than the Francis and McGrady trades when they happened.
....for two first round picks. Those turned out to be Michael Ray Richardson and Wesley Cox, by the way. Still, I gotta go with Clyde cause we got a championship from it :grin:
The Tmac trade was better, he was an absolute superstar at the time. Don't get me wrong, I like this trade, just not the best.
