you read Hollinger article on the trade? http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story...trade-analysis How does it look now for Houston? Did I mention there was another team in this trade? The Rockets are looking good. Reeeeal good. They gave up some choice assets they'd accumulated to make a deal just like this one, and in return they finally have a go-to star on the wings. Harden will have a max extension faster than you can say "beard," and Rockets GM Daryl Morey can finally move forward with the post-Yao strategy he's been working so hard to initiate. And here's the really scary part: Did you know that Houston still has max cap room next year, even after giving a max deal to Harden? You don't think the Rockets might be an attractive destination with a Harden-Lin backcourt and all those kids (Terrence Jones, Donatas Motiejunas, Royce White, Patrick Patterson, Chandler Parsons)? Yowza. Obviously a lot of this depends on some unknowns -- how good Harden can be as The Man in Houston, how well Jeremy Lin will play, and how good those other young Rockets really are. I'll have more by Monday on what this means for Houston's prospects this season. But in the long term, you have to love the concept of a slashing, creating Lin-Harden backcourt, Omer and the Random Young Power Forwards playing behind them, and max cap space lingering for a run at an elite forward. One thing Houston will have to do in the short term is cut a few people, as its roster still has roughly 85 players and has to be down to 15 by Wednesday. It's possible at least one of Aldrich, Hayward and Cook will be part of the cull, but no matter. Harden was the prize the Rockets had been hunting all summer, and they finally got it.
big Harden fan but we gave up a lot for him. he's our #1 option now but i don't know if he's a #1 guy. imo he's great as being the #2 or #3 option on a great team but being #1 i'm not so sure about and we gave up a lot of future talent and kevin martin, who is underrated
Lin and Asiks concrats hits the cap evenlly all three years doesnt hurt us, we have enough room to manuver
It's not a bad trade; however Morey is hardly a genius, and I think that if he had more patience we could have in the long term gotten more. Consider the following as one possible means by which to land 3 potential all-stars instead of a single James Harden: 1. Allow Kmart to have a breakout year--which he was on track to have anyway; and then, trade him at trade deadline for, say, an all-star power forward. 2. Meanwhile develop Lamb. Lamb has the tools, only needs to learn how to use them. Replace Martin with Lamb at SG. 3. Draft two first round picks next year, plus second round pick. Odds are that at least one of these players would blossom into star or semi-star. Follow this approach and three years from now you have a team that is ready to replace the by then aging Spurs and Lakers and make their presence known in the playoffs. Consider the Sixers, Pacers, Jazz--each of these teams made slow and steady progress over time by developing the young talent which they themselves had drafted. Rebuilding is a process; it requires patience and also a bit of luck. Barring some great burst of fortune, getting James Harden will not put the Rockets in the playoffs anytime soon (I.e. anytime in the next three years; the west is simply too strong). Meanwhile the Rockets will have no high draft picks and so won't improve taht way either. Morey has a way of creating change but the result always seems to be the same. Genius should be measured in wins and losses, not just in ballsy trades. This year, and next year, and the year after that, will be entertaining, but no different than the previous three years. Then we will have to liquidate and rebuild all over again.
"And here's the really scary part: Did you know that Houston still has max cap room next year, even after giving a max deal to Harden? You don't think the Rockets might be an attractive destination with a Harden-Lin backcourt and all those kids (Terrence Jones, Donatas Motiejunas, Royce White, Patrick Patterson, Chandler Parsons)? Yowza." quote from Hollinger article on the trade http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story...trade-analysis
Nooo....i wanted to see how Lamb would pan out I hope it's not like the Rudy Gay trade, where it bites us in the ass in the future.
I love this deal. Kmart was gone anyway. Lamb is unproven and was already getting on the nerves of fans/coaches for lack of effort. Toronto was looking like a borderline playoff team which makes that pick far less valuable. So our lineup of the future (i.e. 2014-15 season). Lin (final year) - he can definitely be the 3rd/4th best player on a championship team Harden - cornerstone; #1 or 2 best player on champ-team Max Level Player - yes we have room! T-Jones - anyone convinced he could be a #3/4 option? ME! Asik (final year) - defensive anchor Bench: Parsons (final year), Royce, D-Mo Even if we get a PG as the new max-guy (i.e. Chris Paul) don't you think Lin would thrive in a OKC-Harden role? He can come off the bench to provide instant offense.
Went to sleep early Saturday night. Rockets took off. I love this trade. Can we move past the second round playoff?
Nonsense, I dont want Gay here. He is an inconsistent overrated player who memphis overpayed. Use you're brain.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Houston hasn't been allowed to start negotiating a deal yet with Harden's agent, Rob Pelinka, but will do so once paperwork is complete.</p>— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/WojYahooNBA/status/262397140951764992" data-datetime="2012-10-28T03:35:28+00:00">October 28, 2012</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
You'll still be able to see how Lamb pans out. For comparison sake, look how they started out. Lamb scored 11 and 17ppg in his 2 college seasons, he offered little else apart from scoring, and was an average long range bomber at 36 and 33 % from downtown. Harden's college career is supreme in comparison 18 and 20ppg in his 2 seasons, threaded in 3 and 4apg and lit it up at 41 and 36 % from downtown. He also contributed volume steals. Harden went on to produce at NBA level, starring for OKC and being selected for teamUSA. Last season he was 17/4/4 and there's every reason to believe that he'll improve again this season (as he has every year so far in the league). Sure, Lamb looks like a nice prospect, but he didn't manage to be the top SG picked this draft - I'd be shocked if he's anywhere near as good a player as Harden.
LOL I'm sorry but you have no idea what you're talking about. 1) Kmart could indeed have a breakout year, but he's also an expiring contract. Even in the unlikely scenario he ended up leading the league in scoring, smart teams will just bid for him in the summer, there won't be teams giving up multiple draft picks for 2) Yes Lamb COULD develop into a star/semi-star...but Harden is already a star/semi star right now. At the very least he's good enough to command a max contract, while I see Lamb developing into a slightly better Kmart and maxing out as a 10=12M a year player. He COULD also turn out to be a bust. Point is, you pick the sure thing now, rather than gamble and hope you get lucky. And even if you do get lucky, you just ended up with the same or worse player. LOLZ 3) See point above. Lottery could be anywhere from 4 (which is awesome) to 14 (which is Ppat, Marcus Morris). I dunno about you, but with Bargnani, Valanciunas and Lowry and a decent coach at the helm I would wager its the latter rather than the former. Finally, GMs should always be judged on moves not results/wins. OKC had like 5-6 losing seasons before they became contenders. Do you look at year 4 of their plan and then say Presti gtfo? You point out the Sixers and the Jazz, but those guys had superstar/star players they used in trades. Jazz got more than half of their current core by trading D-will to the Nyets, and the Sixers aren't really that good...plus they just traded AI for an injured Bynum. The Spurs are already transitioning into the post TD era, Parker+Splitter+their young wing is much better than your Sixers team IMHO. Lakers haven't drafted/developed a star player since Kobe, they will get somebody to play with DH when Kobe/Nash/Gasol fall off the map...maybe Lebron.
