To put the wingspan numbers in perspective, based on the stats from draft measurements, the average wingspan for a 6' 4'' (w/o shoes) player such as Lamb is 6' 8.9" http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-pre-draft-measurements/?page=averages&year=All
whats not to like... I would have traded Lin for Harden if I could have... Rox just stole another player... got to give it to Morey
I've been called a Wing Stopper before too, but because I can beat Daryl Morey in a wing eating competition at Wing Stop
Wow, that's really interesting. For some reason, I always assumed James Harden was more like 6'3" instead of 6'5" and Jeremy Lamb was something like 6'7" instead of 6'5"!
well congrats Houston. i agree with Hollinger, and i think Morey screwed Presti here. I can't believe that you offer 13 mil / year but not 2 mil more. And did they even try adding an extra year? It's so ridiculous and so cheap. This wouldn't happen in San Antonio.
They couldn't offer a 5th year. With progressive luxury tax penalties, the more they offered the less attractive he became, because it would reduce the quality of 11 other players. Diminishing returns. You are right, because Ginobli took less than the max to stay in SA. Something Harden said he would do multiple times, but obviously wouldn't.
hahah ... I also had to read that part twice. Couldn't believe Hollinger doesn't know Lamb can't defend. Well no problemo for Harden here, because we have Parsons for the perimeter defense.
The Rockets all of a sudden have a top tier backcourt. The future is looking very bright. I'm wondering who they'll target in the offseason? Would dwight be interested? With kobe and nash soon leaving, will dwight still be interested in staying with a depleted lakers' roster? He'd have an exceptionally talented roster in houston if he signed which will be extremely competitive for years and years.
OKC is a small market which can't afford to go over the cap. They don't have the luxury of an enormous tv contract like the lakers, and can't charge top tier ticket prices, either. Second, they were smart enough to avoid a potentially incredibly distracting season long negotiation, a la dwight or lebron. They made their 'decision' and it was certainly in their best interest over the long haul. SAS has brainwashed their players into accepting less than their market value. I don't know if it's pop's dictatorial/paternalistic influence, or whether they've been incredibly lucky in acquiring talent that doesn't care about max contracts. Nonetheless, SAS is definitely not the norm with personnel or payroll.
Who has he stolen before? I'm trying to like this trade but I just can't. Reminds me of Aziza coming in.
Harden is no Ariza. Harden might not end up being a Top15 player in the game, but he definitely proved with an entire season of play that he's the real deal.
it's been covering many times, so i don't see much point to go into it, but 13 mil / max makes very little difference.
and i was referring to San Antonio going into the luxury, btw. OKC didn't even have to do that, just spend ~10 mil on a Perkins amnesty.
there's designated player exception. did they use it? i guess they might've used it on Westbrook, i don't remember. and who cares how much Ginobili was paid. Fans are silly if they expect their players to take paycuts. Who's Harden to take a paycut when noone else on that roster is taking a paycut? a saint? San Antonio went into luxury tax to compete. OKC could've kept Harden by spending a little cash and amnestying Perkins. Which they were probably prepared to do, if they offered Harden 52 mil to begin with. Not taking that extra small step to max is just puzzling.
Bennett is a hardass who traded Harden because he didn't take their offer. Morey has done the same thing many times before.
OKC had been operating under the red for most part of the franchise. It wasn't until recently, 2009, that they actually made some profit. In 2010, they had 'operation profit' of 22.6 million according to Forbes. By amnesty Perkin, they still have to pay his 17.5 million salary for 2013-2015. If Thunder enters luxury tax domain, it would wipe out most of the profit. 5-10 millions might not sound a lot to Knicks and Laker, but to a small market teams like OKC, it means a big chunk of their profit.
Because Hollinger don't want to show his bias to the rockets. So he had to make the deal looked good for both teams
you are being extreme here. It's more like 10-13 mil, unless you think no one would claim Perkins. Perkins isn't THAT bad. And it'd be spread out over two years. AND they were clearly ready to amnesty Perkins -- or get rid of him some other way. So in fact, we are talking about 6-10 mil as the deal breaker here financially, i.e. the difference between Harden's 52 mil offer and a max contract. Financial reasons make no sense on their own. It's a tiny price to pay, especially for a profitable organization. But if Woj is right and Harden was pouting about his role, the trade starts to make sense for them.
