Howard is a bad baseline though. Nobody in the history of anything will ever say that the Orlando Magic got a good deal with what they got for Dwight Howard.
if howard came with a guaranteed contract extension, dont you think what they got in return would have been much more significant?
Really, there was no way for the Raptors or anyone else to predict that Lowry would miss 6 games due to an ankle injury, Alan Anderson would be out a month with a torn plantar fascia in his foot, and that Landry Fields would be out a month due to surgery for a nerve condition that NOBODY was aware that he had. No point worrying over an unpredictable scenario.
Lets put it this way: What are the chances that either the player drafted with this pick or Jeremy Lamb turns into a Harden-level player?
We got a top 3 SG for the pick + others. We've been waiting on a star and we finally got one. The way picks after the first pick have been panning out, nothing is guaranteed. Our pick could turn out better than Torontos pick. Hell Parsons would probably be a Top 5 pick if last years draft was redrafted now. Lets just be thankful for what we got and move on. No Toronto pick, no Harden.
forgot to mention we didnt gut our roster to get harden. we also got cook who can still play, and aldrich who has potential as a backup center WITH SIZE! i didnt like the trade at first cuz i wasnt high on harden, but i was willing to be patient and im glad i was.
and the best of part this situation - no one thinks about that - James Harden hadn't top his ceiling yet. Look, I know it's hard for him to become like Jordan, but he's still 23 and we're reading articles about him being the best wing player after Lebron, Kobe etc.
The funnier thing is, Shabazz is also compared to Harden. This site is pretty good with it's comparisons. It Compared Harden to Manu. I don't think Harden is in his prime either but really...lets not mention Jordan. I do think it will be pretty hard for any of the guys to reach his level right now. At least the guys outside of the top 5 as usual. I think the Raptors will do better as long as they stay healthy.
Basically zero. I suspect this thread is intended as a covert way of trying to cast doubt on Harden after he has a bad game.
And take an overrated Tyler Zeller or Shabazz Muhammed whom would both be projects instead of Harden? No thank you.
Harden has proven he is a top 10 if not a top 5 SG in this league, even off the bench. Unless another LBJ/D.Howard is in that draft class (for the pick) there's no hesitation to pull the trigger on a SURE thing rather than a GAMBLE. Just sayin
If Shabaaz(who is compared to Harden in scouting reports) or whomever the #1 pick ends up being is a player close to Harden's caliber then the #1 pick is a great deal. The Raptor's pick is top 3 protected.... So yeah... chances that whatever pick ends up being a player anywhere close to Harden's caliber.... slim to none. The Rockets made the right decision all day trading that pick for Harden.... who is Harden, not a player that MIGHT end up being Harden in 5 years.
My guess is that OKC never ends up using that pick for itself, but would rather trade it for an established player on a good (i.e. non-max) contract. For example, I think Goran Dragic or Kyle Lowry would make sense.
