Has anybody checked out James Harden's Similarity Scores on his Basketball Reference page

This is ironic since you're the one ignoring context. You're the one ignoring the NBA landscape back then.

The Lakers had Nash/Kobe/Artest/Gasol/Dwight. How could OKC have beaten them with an undersized frontcourt?

 

he keeps bringing up Dwight and Gasol on the Lakers

well, we quickly found out that the Lakers actually weren’t sh*t...OKC did not need to trade Harden that summer, and after realizing during the season that the Lakers were a joke, the option of amnestying Perkins is still there in order to keep Harden...his point is just dumb

 

well he's a dwiva fan no surprise there

 

Are u stupid or something? The Lakers were garbage, and OKC would’ve found that out and realized that they didn’t need Perkins to beat this mythical Lakers team that was actually a joke. They did not have to trade Harden that summer, they could’ve kept him for the last year of his rookie deal and let him be a RFA while amnestying Perkins to afford Harden since the Lakers were not a threat. That dumb point is easily destroyed, Idk why u keep repeating it. Next

 

Again, you're judging with 20/20 hindsight which is illogical.

Going into the season, the Lakers had a roster of Nash/Kobe/Artest/Gasol/Dwight. Back then, do you think ANYONE thought they'd be garbage? Vegas had the Lakers as favorites to come out of the West.

I keep repeating it because it explains OKC's mindset. I don't know why you keep dismissing it.

 

Ok, this is getting sad. Please don’t talk to me about illogical when u can’t comprehend simple facts. Lmao, who cares what anyone thought or what Vegas was saying. They did not have to trade Harden that summer. He had a year left before entering RFA. The fact is that the Lakers were garbage, and the second fact is that they could’ve kept Harden for another year on his rookie year salary while finding that out, and then just amnesty Perkins to free up additional money to keep him. I dismiss it because it’s just a stupid point. I destroyed it easily. If you’re gonna quote me with that point again, u might as well just save yourself the key strokes and stop digging yourself an even bigger hole.

 

could OKC payed the lux tax with Harden? coz they did with Kanter

 

They could’ve and should’ve. They chose the wrong time to be willing to pay luxury tax.

I doubt we’ll ever see a situation like what OKC had again...a team led by a bunch of 22 and 23 year olds that they drafted already good enough to make the finals

How do u break that up? Dudes on here talking about because of the Lakers and Perkins being so essential. Lmao. Harden back then was good enough to hop off the plane arriving from OKC and drop 37 and 12 on Detroit and 45 against the Hawks.

 

The only time yeah, especially within a market like Oklahoma.

And there were also other concerns with 3 alphas on a team.

Harden was the least vocal one and I bet he would have deferred and his game wouldn't have surged the way it did.

You probably would have put WB onto the bench as Scott Brooks or another coach needed scoring and playmaking off the pine.

 

so what is it really?

OKC traded him because he was too much of an ALPHA or he was just super role player?

or both? LOL

 

Again, you're arguing with 20/20 hindsight. You simply can't do that. The way you're arguing is intellectually dishonest.

No one expected the Lakers to be bad. That's why they were the favorites to come out of the West before the season started.

 

Why are you and other people in this thread reinventing history? The trade was widely regarded as completely moronic at the time on the part of OKC, and almost nobody (maybe literally nobody) thought Harden was MVP material.

Furthermore, literally nobody (for sure) at the time thought the difference needed to beat LA was Kendrick Perkins.

 

I'm not rewriting anything. Why do you think OKC kept Perkins? He may not have been the difference, but to beat LA, OKC needed to be able to defend both Howard and Gasol. How does that happen without Perkins?

 

no, you don't understand. Perk was making 8 million. Harden wanted 80 million. Okc offered 55 million. Those 8 million would not have made a difference for a guy that could make 80 million dollars elsewhere, as a franchise player.

Meanwhile, they gave ibaka 50 million which everyone called an absolute steal, meaning he would never take less. They would have had to let him go and give a large chunk of that money to harden. At the time, it was between your 6th man to provide extra something of something you have, or the best shot blocker in the game.

They made the right move at the time. In retrospect, they didn't. But a crime is judged by intent prior to the crime.

 

I'm not here to argue. I'm here to post this (it's an older article so don't get caught up in it):

https://bleacherreport.com/articles...for-james-harden-is-fun-but-nearly-impossible

Finding Historical Comparisons for James Harden Is Fun but Nearly Impossible

• James Harden is not the “next” anyone; he’s the first James Harden. In fact, unlike most superstars, he’s escaped the “next” mantra entirely.

1. 
   
   Kobe Bryant was called the “Air Apparent” his whole career because he patterned his game after Michael Jordan. LeBron James has been compared to Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson because of their triple-double tendencies.
   
   There is no previous Harden, though. There are only players with shared characteristics. These are the ones who have the most in common with him.
   
   All of these appraisals are based solely on the offensive side of the ball. Harden’s defense isn’t worth comparing to anyone—even with this season’s improvements. Bear in mind, though, that he is still only 25 and in his sixth year.
   
   James started off as a defensive liability too. He didn’t make his first All-Defensive team until he was in his seventh season. Players develop their games, especially when they’re younger. Harden has clearly upped his defense, but there is still room to grow.
   
   It would be dishonest to assume that he will blossom into an All-Defensive player, and it would be equally dishonest to presume that he won’t. We’ll table those discussions for another day.
   
   These are the closest comparisons, listed by degree of similarity to Harden and why.
   
   read the rest in the link above should you wish

​

 

Good Lord. No, Harden did not want 80 mil. He was seeking 4/60, and OKC was offering 4/55.

from Woj himself

“Harden, last season's Sixth Man of the Year, has been pushing for a maximum contract extension of four years, $60 million.“

Do not try and challenge me if u don’t even know what was going down and aren’t aware of any of the facts. Maybe u should use something better than Wikipedia.

 

I destroyed your stupid talking point, it’s not my fault u want to keep digging an even bigger hole repeating the same nonsense. Idgaf what anyone expected. GM’s make moves based on what randos like u think about a team or what Vegas says? Lol, no. They had a year left on Harden’s rookie deal, so they did not have to trade him. And if they didn’t, they would’ve quickly realized the Lakers were not a threat. The way you’re arguing is just devoid of intelligence. I’ve destroyed your post again.

 

You didn't destroy anything, and frankly, you sound ignorant.

It's easy to act so superior when you have the benefit of 20/20 hindsight. However, that's an intellectually dishonest way to argue, and you'll look foolish.

And don't dismiss oddsmakers just because you don't understand it. If you have so much conviction in your insight relative to Vegas', then you should be a multi-millionaire. Are you?

 

Lmao, this is getting really pathetic from u. At this point, I’m just kicking a kid while he’s down. U got bodied, and it was light work. Looks like I have to save u from yourself as u keep digging yourself this hole. When u have something better than these easily destroyed talking point u can come for me. Until then, bye.

 

Crazy part of OKC was they were getting better every year.


2009-10: Lost in the First round to the eventual NBA Champion Lost Angeles Lakers

2010-11: Lost in the Western Conference Finals to the eventual NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks

2011-12: Lost in the NBA Finals to the Miami Heat

BAM! Harden traded.

That core should have gotten at least 1 more year. I think they learned and matured a lot after that loss.

They missed Harden’s closing that following year they lost to the Spurs.



*notice how Perkins wasn’t even on the floor during that moment*