Honestly I think that played a role in both moves. Les doesn't want an all-star game in Houston with no player from his team in it. That's embarrassing.
That shows you that a lot of fans don't really know basketball... I attribute that to a lot of basketball fans having never played organized basketball.
He better at least be an all-star SG. He's already at about that level though. I think he has a chance to become a superstar.
I liked Jeremy Lamb, but I noticed in the pre, his ability to change direction is not NBA caliber......... Whether he can fix this deficiency on OKC, time will tell....... His only real potential is backup SG. If nothing else, this brings playoff experience to the Rox, and the opposing "D" cannot key solely on Lin.
Disappointed to see Lamb go. Wanted to see what he could become, but I think it's actually a good trade for both teams. OKC got a current and future 2guard, great picks, and we got Harden, depth at C (although I haven't heard much about Aldrich that excites me). WIN-WIN. Glad we didn't move TJones or D-Mo. I've cooled quite a bit on Royce, with all his baggage, but we have time for him to develop, and hopefully turn into something positive. He has a very unique skillset....but I'm not convinced it will translate into a quality NBA player. At the very least, he can be our Maurice Lucas (an enforcer type). Should be a fun team to watch this year. Go Rockets!!! :grin::grin::grin:
Obviously we are going to argue Kobe's worth as a player. Which I'm not in the mood for. Let's just say Harden isn't on (insert multi-talented swingman franchise player's name)'s level yet.
Max players now are not the same kind of risk they were 10 years ago. It's a manageable salary and Harden is still a young and upcoming player.
Starting 5 defense just got a whole lot better as well. All starters are solid to spectacular on defense now.
Fans were wondering why Martin picture was not on our new Houston guide. Morey had the plan all along. Preseason was only trying to display K Mart to other teams by running less pick and roll, and more Martin Iso. A masterful plan, indeed.
Harden is as good an offensive player as Martin is now, AND he plays better defense, AND he can make plays in isolation, AND he has a much better health history, AND he's only 23 years old. Anyone who says he has similar value to Martin is, to put it mildly, nuts. If Martin is worth $10-12M and Harden is that much better then that's why Harden is worth max money.