i know this could have been posted in another thread, but i felt the need to make this thread, and its probably not worthy of its own thread, but oh well. - do you guys remember back in June when OKC was STRONGLY considering trading harden for the #3 overall pick in the draft (beal) ? This deal was A LOT better than that.
I think this is a deal that CLEARLY works well for both teams. Now....I don't think the Thunder necessarily got "better", but they got cap flexibility and now have 2 great young prospects in Lamb and Perry Jones to develop behind their proven superstars of Westbrook and Durant. Rockets needed a player to build around, and Harden isn't elite, but he's a great, all star caliber player. Also....the Rockets don't need 2 more draft picks. The youth is abundant on this team, and the 2013 draft is one of the weaker drafts in recent memory according to many. K Mart was always considered gone at some point this season, and Lamb is a nice prospect, but I doubt he amounts to Harden's level. Both teams got great deals in my opinion. Really don't see how either team's fans could complain. However, having said that, I'm surprised OKC didn't at least give it a run with James Harden this year and go for a ring. They can obviously still win one with Durant and Westbrook, but it'll be tougher without Harden.
yeah, i agree with you. good trade for both teams, okc / rockets are my 2 favorite teams in the nba, so it's kinda weird seeing this. all im saying is that this trade is better than the p
You know it might not be. If Toronto pick turns out to be a #11 pick, Lamb plays poorly and Martin is lol Martin who cares. Beal is a #3 pick with a lot of good hype. He played really well in the NCAA tourney (can't say that about Lamb). Beal has a better chance of being as good as Harden than Lamb does (I think Lamb maxes around 15ppg, good spot up type, but not much else). That said, I still find it a win/win. OKC didn't have the money to pay lux tax, but I think OKC should've moved Westbrook instead and made Harden control the ball as a 2.
come to think of it, your right. Beal may turn out to be a special player. but saying OKC should have moved westbrook instead!?!?!??!??! no way, no way, Westbrook is a top 10 player in the nba.
Harden in the playoffs looked like a better floor general. If they could've gotten more value out of Westbrook you do it. I'm not sold on Westbrook, he seems more of a spark type player. A Jason Terry 2.0 type (better PG than Terry and obv more talented).
Both teams got good deals. Just because we didn't rape them doesn't mean we should feel bad about getting an elite SG.
I don't see it as a bad deal, it's more of a huge gamble. If Lamb doesn't end up to be anything special, and the Raptors pick end up in the 10-14 range. Then we fleeced them. The judgment is still out for Lamb, but there is no chance the Raptors will sniff top 5 pick this season, not with a lineup of Lowry, Bargnani, Valanciunas, DeRozan and Fields.
I dunno about Westbrook being Jason Terry, but there are plenty of good point guards in the NBA. There really aren't many good shooting guards, though. Because of that, I think Harden is a more valuable commodity and they might have been better off trading Westbrook.
I think this is as ideal a trade that OKC can possibly get for Harden. They only slightly reduce their odds of contending this year because of Martin. And for the future they have 2 shots to replace Harden: Lamb and Toronto's pick. And they get cap flexibility for the future once Martin leaves in the offseason. It seems like a perfect deal for OKC, just like it's perfect for us. OKC needs more assets so they can replace Harden cheaply. The Rockets need LESS assets because they have gazillion youngsters anyway, but want to upgrade on premium talent. It's the very definition of win-win.
They had a much, much better shot before the trade. I was going to post in this thread but it is mind-numbing. I think some of the guys pooping out of their mouths in here, saying Harden is a better PG than Westbrook who is Jason Terry, some of these guys should email Clutch and ask him to delete the thread. This is pathetic and embarassing.
OKC got the best deal they could get. It still blows my mind why Orlando passed on the Rockets' offer to do the much worse trade with L.A./Philly.
PG Westbrook / Maynor / Jackson SG Martin / Sefolosha / Lamb SF Durant / Jones PF Ibaka / Collison C Perkins / Thabeet With two lottery picks. They're not going to win the championship this year, or next year. But that was probably the case with Harden anyway. The Lakers and Heat have that locked up. They set themselves up very well for the next five years, especially if Lamb pans out. Still think the Rockets win this trade. They get a proven commodity.
Orlando's GM and management should all be fired. I don't care what Howard wanted. If Houston was willing to give up all that just for a rental, then take it. It was the best deal out there. You're trying to rebuild your franchise and you end up taking the worse deal out there. I'd be pissed if I was a Magic fan. You traded Dwight Howard for some middle of the pack players and late first round draft picks. Rockets and Thunder both got what they wanted out of this deal. Maynor is back this year and he is more than capable of running the second unit. If Martin does come off the bench, he can carry the scoring load all by himself. He is more than good enough to destroy the other team's bench.
wrong. im pretty sure martin will not start, and he will come off the bench just as harden did. sefalosha will start again. although, dennis scott (one of the nba tv guys) said on twitter that russel westbrook is moving to the shooting guard position....?
