Honestly, the league owners and front office people are the ones to blame for all of the money problems that have been crippling the league. You have dumb GMs and front office executives were/are willing to pay these players (I'm looking at you Rashard Lewis) such ridiculous amounts and the salary inflation we witnessed through the latter part of the 90's and well into the new millennium was a result of these dumb moves by incompetent front offices. Even the Rockets didn't come out those days unscathed. Guys like LeBron James should be making a crap ton more than guys like Joe Johnson but this is what the league has come to. Players should be graded on their performance and marketing power to determine their "true values".
Not a max player and not sure any team will offer him the max but we should offer him one of the top contracts to see if he will bite.
KG was able get a $25MM per on his second deal, Shaq was around the same amount I think. Allan Houston was making $14MM per and it's Allan Houston. We're also talking about salaries 10 years ago, which just by plain inflation is going to cause it to go up (for reference, 20 years ago, the Rockets can be bought by $80MM but is worth almost 7x that right now). Point was, there "franchise" type player should be taking up at least 60% of a teams payroll, and there are maybe 10 players of that type in the league right now. It's not the second tiers that are being overpaid right now, it's the 3rd tier that's getting $8MM per that's really crippling the team.
I would offer him the max... He's one of the most gifted young two guard in the league. He's a dynamic playmaker, and can score at will. Pair him up with a gifted young big, and you have something to build around. Without a doubt, I would offer him the max, and steal him from OKC.
Yeah, PPS is a good indicator of efficiency, but in itself it is in no way a good measurement of how good a player is offensively. A player averaging 10 pts on 5 shots is not a better offensive player than a player averaging 20 pts on 15 shots. You have to look into other factors. Harden is a very good player. He may be a "max" player in today's CBA. But is he a Durant kind of max player capable of carrying a team or is he a Joe Johnson kind of max player? You won't know until you put him in a leading role on a good team.
I love Harden and would throw a party if the Rox could land him at any price. He'd instantly be our lead dog.
You might as well say overpaid players in general are killing the league (which they are). Overpaid players were crippling then and they are crippling now. The reason why the Hawks are your perpetual "run of the mill' playoff team is because they are bound by that massive contract that Joe Johnson signed. It greatly limits their ability to pursue other options and upgrade at positions of need. Same goes for the Magic and their incompetence when they signed Rashard to that ridiculous contract. Being "second-tier", "third-tier", "fourth-tier", etc is all debatable. As I was saying, in the end, it all comes down to what the team thinks the player is worth.
If you are asking me can the Rockets offer a little less than Max and get him? I would say yes. I think he could be paid like Kevin Martin is and Oklahoma would not match for their 6th man off the bench. I think the Rockets should do just that.
If you're saying that okc doesn't think he's worth that amt just because he comes off the bench I'd have to disagree. Would you rather give Sefalosha Kmart money because he starts?
I am thinking I would like to test them out and see if they would flinch on paying him starting money for a near allstar type salary for the man they use as their 6th man. I bet they wont match.
It's definitely a risk. They'll be in a bind with Ibaka as well. Really just depends on who okc values more in the end. But the 12-14/year range I'm sure will make them think twice so that I understand.
Harden is getting better. I really like the way he plays basketball. Is he at Manu's level, when Manu was in his prime? No. But he is only 22 years old. GRASP THAT! He could become the next Brandon Roy, easy. So I'd pay him the max.
hopefully a healthy Roy though. Although Brandon had Kobe-like killer instincts, not sure if I've seen that from Harden yet.
Ive had time to think about it. Yes he is a max player. Morey should send this guy a max contract and starting job. Tell him we are drafting around him and Lowry as our future or him and Dragic. Then Morey could go ahead and make that trade for Gasol involving Scola and one of our point guards for Pau.
Just to re-state something: No other team (including the Rockets) can even talk to Harden until the summer of 2013. OKC is the only team that can extend him this summer. And in 2013, Harden is restricted, so they can match. 95% chance he gets extended by OKC before next season even starts.
