Harden turned down 4 year/$52M extension, pushing for max

Yes, mixed feelings. If they were going to trade Harden, this is a very good deal for OKC. They get an experienced, skilled player on an expiring contract and I love those trades. They also get a rookie with more promise than I expected when the Rockets drafted him. Lamb won't be a star in the NBA, but he has a bright future ahead. The influence of playing with guys like KD, WB, Ibaka, etc who are totally dedicated to basketball will be a good influence on his development. Lastly, OKC eliminates a serious salary cap concern starting next season by letting Harden go. On the minus side, this makes OKC weaker this year.

I'm not sure about this for the Rockets because I don't know how Harden will do as a "the man" for a team. He was awful in the Finals, awful in the Olympics and totally awful in the pre-season. That is some serious negative momentum. Now he's suddenly tossed into a brand new environment where expectations will be far beyond anything he's ever dealt with. Harden strikes me as the kind of guy who could struggle.

For OKC he's been great (1) playing against reserves and (2) closing games because KD & WB were also on the floor. When defenses treat him as public enemy #1, it will be a shock to Harden's system.

That all said, the Rockets got the highest impact player available in the market. Too bad for the Suns and Mavs.

 

In another thread I said I wouldn't be a fan of OKC if they refused to pay Harden the max. But, they did at least traded him for the full dollar's worth. I need to see how Martin will play in OKC this year before I panic or celebrate. I am assuming that he will be good enough as a 3rd option to make up for the bench boost from Harden.

But, trading Lazar away brings in at least 2 more wins this year.

 

I don't get why they traded him. He was going to be a restricted free agent. They could have matched anything and the max I think was 52 million that he could have been offered by another team.

 

Maybe they didn't want the issue hanging over every game. And maybe Orlando scared them, so they decided to grab the dollar instead of only getting pennies later.

 

Could be b/c Harden has bigger aspirations. Or maybe he promised he was willing to sacrifice for the max (something both KD/WB did) but now says otherwise. That could have pissed off a small-market organization. Presti is a very decisive guy as you can see. And for a team with championship aspirations, they don't want media bombarding with Harden questions throughout the season.

But most likely its this:

Bill Simmons ‏@sportsguy33
I fully support Harden refusing to take 4 yrs 52-54m from OKC. Could get 5 years 75-80m from Houston (no state tax). It's no contest.

 

I am 12 and what is this

 

http://www.dailythunder.com/2012/10/deal-the-beard-what-just-happened/

DailyThunder article with some choice quotes.

 

Thunder fans are idiots if they thought Harden would take under max. why didn't Durant or Westbrook do it?

 

Athletes say the darnedest things.

Another example to never trust what they (or the team for that matter) say.

 

Some damning words about Harden from Woj:

Less money and a sixth-man role – after a summer with Team USA at the Olympics, this was an impossible sell on Harden.

Harden struggled in the NBA Finals, tried too hard and slowly, surely unraveled over the course of the series. When the rest of the Thunder were celebrating a Game 1 victory over Miami in the locker room, Harden could be heard grumbling over too few shots (five), and too few minutes (22).

Basically, Harden had always wanted the max, and the superstar starting role. He was never going to stay with OKC.

 

To be fair, that's what everyone wants. I remember reading an article written by an anonymous player who basically stated that the priority for players are in order,
1. Money
2. Minutes.
3. Being on a winning team.

 

Funny how the actual deal ended up being a lot more favorable to us (replace DMo with Dallas's pick and replace Perkins's millions with a couple scrubs) and yet a lot of people on this board are still whining about it...

 

and btw, if i saw this ROXTXIA's suggestion yesterday and wasn't tired of Harden trade ideas, i would've said it's a terrible deal for OKC.

PS: is it possible that Presti is still advised by Rob Hennigan? The man clearly knows how to draft, but he's been pretty shaky when it comes to big trades and signings.

 

By most accounts, he's one of the top 5 SGs in the league. Not exactly a crazy thing for him to want.

I'm not entirely sure this situation wouldn't be reversed he had come up for an extension before Westbrook.

 

as i mentioned in the main thread in the GARM

its not the 6 million Harden was upset about

its that 5 year that brings the additional 15-20 million which OKC could not offer since they used up that "max" extension under the new cba on Westbrook.

Now you tell me what person would "sacrifice" 21-26 million dollars like that? You think Westbrook or Durant would? NO F'N WAY

 

Lol its cute when people call Westbrook Westbrick. Westbrook>>>Harden. If anyone is to be dealt it would be Harden or Ibaka and it was Harden in this case.

 

Not only that but Oklahoma has a 5.5% state income tax that Texas does not have. Let's say it was $25mil in base compensation [including the 5th year that OK can't offer], that extra 5.5% really makes it equivalent to 26.375 mil [if he played in OK].

If I'm 23, I'd be excited to be a rocket knowing I just picked up an additional $26mi+ in guaranteed money over what OKC could offer. And that's not greed either, that's intelligence. You've only got so many earning years as a player. Better take it while you can get it.

 

Yeah sacrifice. I'll sacrifice 20M and a starter role just so OKC can win a ring. Yay

Sacrifice is only cool when:

A) The best player does it (ie TD, Gilbert Arenas, MJ)
B) Everyone does it (LBJ, Bosh, Wade)

It is not cool when everybody else got their money but somehow you're supposed to take less for the good of the team otherwise you suck.

 

It sounds like OKC low balled Harden because he chuckled when Broussard mentioned 13-14 million playing for OKC.

 

Or he isn't good at ze maths.