One question that comes to mind is whether Presti will make another move to get a backup C. Summer league and the pre-season were not kind to Aldrich.
I'll tell you how it will affect me: I will follow them more closely now that they have Lamb. If it weren't for Westbrook, I could see myself being a real fan of that team. Love Ibaka & Durant, the coach Scottie Brooks and now Martin, Lamb & PJ3.
between Durant, Martin and Lamb they're gonna be ridiculously efficient from 3. They're gonna lose a lot of toughness though.
WTF is hollinger smoking on lamb?? not once, but TWO times he refers to him as a defensive stopper, far above harden in that respect
Hollinger has been talking about Lamb as a potentially elite defender / shooter since forever. I'm not sure if he thinks Lamb is already there, it reads like that in that article, but i suspect he means his potential. I imagine he wrote that article in hurry. As for Harden, he kind of sucks defensively (so far). But then again, if we are talking about potential, i don't see why he can't improve. He's long and athletic enough and certainly can move his feet. And he's been improving every year.
Agreed. They don't have a true playmaker on their team, anymore. Westbrook, Durant and Martin (and Lamb) are all people who need to shoot the ball to be effective.
I agree Martin will thrive in OKC. He was brought here to be the second option behind Yao. Now he will be shooting uncontested threes while other teams worry about Durant and Westrbrick. Martin is deadly when he gets his looks.
OKC really needs to make a secondary trade for some low post scoring like you wouldn't believe. If I was Presti I would already be thinking about flipping those 3 draft picks for a low post scoring machine like Millsap, Jefferson, etc. I really like the idea of attaching Perkin's contract with those picks, moving Ibaka over to the 5 full time and acquiring a low post scoring big to complement their 2 stars better. Also, if they could make this move and still hold onto Kevin Martin it would be a major upgrade to their teams offense.
I don't think it affects them that much, personally it makes them better. Harden was only being used as a 6th man/place holder when one of their big 2 steps out. During their finals run he only played 22 mins and took 5 shots on their sole win against Miami, so its not like they depended on him, his game just doesn't mesh well if you already have both KD and WB on the floor. I think getting Kmart makes them more deadly this season than last year, because Kmart can play the 6th man role to perfection. Next year, they'll be able to develop not just Lamb and their lotto pick, but also PJ3 so yeah, I don't think they lost out.
I think alot of how this affects OKC will depend on how Eric Maynor recovers and picks up the leader role for OKC's second unit. He will never be the 6th man Harden is, but they will need Maynor more than ever to facilitate the 2nd team. Obviously Kevin Martin will flourish in a scoring capacity with passes coming from KD and WB. I think there are many smaller factors that will determine how much OKC is affected. How fast will PJIII develop, if ever, into the all-around talent everyone assumed he would become when he got to Baylor? Can anyone else provide the spark that Harden did? The picks help out in the long-term, and Martin's expiring contract could still be used at the trade deadline to bring in a piece Presti thinks might work better. Time will tell...
They have Martin for a year (or trade bait right before the deadline), Lamb to groom as Harden's backup, plus a high draft pick. I don't think Martin fits well with what they do but it's a contract year for him so he'll probably find a way to get minutes and fill up the stat sheet.
They have added too many guys without a motor: PJ3, Lamb, and Martin. (I've watched A LOT of PJ3 and Martin, Lamb that is the rumor). On the HOPES that their motor will turn on due to Durant/Westbrook. Not sure if they are right. I think Martin being on a contender might be correct, but he has hit his ceiling: 20ppg scorer @ best with absolutely no defense. I'm not sure Durant/Westbrook have the Jordan in them to get the most of of these motorless players. If they do, they will be AMAZING. PJ3 is special (talent wise), but if you watched enough Baylor games, he is WORSE than Tmac on showing up everyday. He shows up ever 3-4 games, when it is convenient for him. If everything pans out, they will be in the title running again along w/ Lakers, Heat. If not... they will be more in the Clippers/Boston/San Antonio class, where they are good, but probably not championship contenders unless they get some injury help.
The Lakers became a better team than OKC with the Dwight Howard deal, and it hasn't changed after the Harden trade. I don't think this trade necessarily make OKC worse, but it didn't help them for the future unless Lamb develops into something special. I think the two picks will not be in the high lottery.
Definitely the right decision long-term. Short-term, I think it will be a wash. I think Harden is easily better than Martin, but I expect it to work out well for them.
