Phoenix already had James Harden, but his name was Joe Johnson. Signing James Harden will complete the Suns master plan to be mediocre for 5 years.
C- Gortat PF - Scola SF - Beasley SG - Harden PG - Dragic That's a pretty good lineup, they'd be a Memphis quality team of sorts.
How are people surprised by this, he has family and played in Arizona in college. The fact that you guys are being all petty because a player wants to play in a comfortable environment (WITHOUT STARTING ANY DRAMA) is stupid. I bet all of you who claimed that he's overrated or **** like that would love for Harden to be in Houston.
I think that's unfair. He gets to the basket pretty well and is an above-average passer. This chart is very informative about his shot-selection:
Not surprising he would seriously consider the Suns. He's a die-hard ASU guy and they love him over there. As far as the Rockets' chances of getting him, they're pretty low unless we trade for him somehow and let the extra money we can offer him do the talking. I've heard he's not that fond of Houston for whatever reason. OKC is his #1 option and PHX as his 2nd option is a safe bet.
I'd like to see this without the fast-break. I've seen him get a lot of baskets at the rim on the fast-break, but in the half-court, he always seems to just cross over a few time and jack up a jumper. Where did you get this graphic, though? I'd like to compare it with Westbrook, and it would be cool if you could pick out certain types of plays (catch-and-shoot, isolate, fast-break, etc.).
Good point about the fast breaks. I'd be interested to see that as well. The NY Times compared the shot selection between Miami's big three and OKC's right before the finals. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/06/11/sports/basketball/nba-shot-analysis.html
The idea that Harden will legitimately be on the market is silly, because Sam Presti isn't going to let him walk for nothing. It's no secret what James wants. Either OKC can afford it or they can't. Not rocket science. If it's the latter, they'll deal him for a lottery pick and/or young prospect(s) in February, and that team will commit to Harden as a centerpiece and match whatever offer he gets, just like New Orleans matched on Gordon. Much like Bynum, if you want James Harden, you're going to have to trade for him. Not going to be up for grabs next summer.
I think you are right, though Lin, Asik, and Fields all left their teams when it looked like that there was no way it could happen.
You obviously do not watch much OKC basketball. (Saying he has no midgame would be valid critique, but you are describing someone not named James Harden with your post.) Good day, sir.
Would they risk breaking up a contending squad like that, though? Harden is essential to OKC making it to the Finals and they need him on the roster if they're gonna make a run.
It can happen with non-max level RFAs, because you can structure the contracts in such an extreme backloaded way that the original teams (Knicks/Bulls) can't justify matching. With a guy like Harden where the contract terms (max) are fairly understood, it's a lot more difficult to pull off a "poison pill". OKC essentially knows what the terms are going in. I think so. It's a tough pill to swallow, but Presti is a smart GM and knows what he has. Durant and Westbrook are each among the top 10 players in the game, signed long-term and are only 23. OKC has as much as a decade of true contention in front of them. In that context, one year isn't enough time for Presti to let an asset like Harden walk for potentially no compensation. If he leaves OKC, it'll be by trade before the deadline.
Or to be more complete, the NY Times published this, but it was created by the guy who runs this site, one of my favorite basketball reads.
