Ain't no way. Without Ibaka, OKC's front line would be slow as molasses, unathletic and much worse on offense and defense. Remember, Perkins is nothing more than a specialist role player. Harden is better than Ibaka right now, but OKC can replace his production easier than what Ibaka does on both ends of the floor. Yes sir. They could have waited until the summer to amnesty Perk because Harden's extension doesn't begin until next season.
OKC really should have kept Harden instead of Westbrook seriously. The decision westbrook made down the stretch when rockets came with that run a couple of quick pull up jumpers. Exactly why he is not point guard material and will doom the thunder in the playoffs
I think after tonight we can say - <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ufRj4jsCmtI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Goodness gracious. Sam Presti made a HUGE mistake by not maxing out Harden and using the amnesty clause on Perkins this summer. Colossal error. Houston Rockets fans say "Thank You Sam!" :grin:
LOL, even if they have to trade one of the big money guys, they should have traded Westbrook. I agree man, amnesty Perkins make the most sense tho. And if the luxury tax threshold is really rumored to be at about $76+ mil, they are even more stupid because I believe they don't even have to amnesty anybody.
To be fair, they did get a lottery pick (Toronto is terrible) and a KMart who is playing well. They are still legit contenders.
The Raptors pick won't be worth a lot, at least not from the way Raptors are playing right now. The best OKC could hope for is the Raptors making the playoffs this season, because at this rate their pick will only be around the 10-14 range.
I WAS being fair. But it's obvious Presti blew it by trading a franchise-level talent that was a bargain at 4yrs/$58 million. K-Mart on an expring contract + Jeremy Lamb + Raptors lottery pick clearly don't measure up to Harden. OKC remains contenders but they are weaker than if they kept Harden. The team took a step backwards when they were within striking distance. Not smart. It's all good though. After the Rockets, OKC is the team I follow most (because of KD). Paul robbed Peter.
How can anyone say Harden is better than Ibaka? First of all, they play different positions. Secondly, Harden can't produce defense like Ibaka can (and Ibaka can't produce offensively like Harden can). Thirdly, Ibaka doesn't have the most amazing beard in league history.
Yeah, it doesn't look like that Raptors pick is going to be any good (and this draft doesn't look great either). It looks like we got lucky there.
I almost started a separate thread on the following idea: the best comparison for Russell Westbrook is Steve Francis. Aside from Westbrook being more of a jerk (at least to the media), they are incredibly similar. By that I mean incredibly talented and athletic would-be point-guards who are triple-double threats, turnover prone, and (probably) doomed to decline quickly as they age a bit. Let's compare Westbrook and Francis at age 24. TS%, and PER Westbrook 22.7 PPG, 42.5%, 52.3 TS%, 5.2 RPG, 8.1 APG, 3.6 Turns/game, 22.9 PER Francis 21.6 PPG, 41.7%, 51.7 TS%, 7.0 RPG, 6.4 APG, 3.9 Turns/game, 19.1 PER You can argue that the better teammates for Westbrook decrease his rebounding, and increase his assists, relatively. Anyway, if this comparison is worthwhile, then the Thunder really messed up by trading Harden, since he has the skills that would translate better to a longer career of excellence.
Thunder's loss is Rocket's gain. James Harden has shown that he is a top 5/top 10 player given starter's minutes. If Thunder did not make a mistake, how can Rockets land a top latent with expiring contract and 2 draft picks?
I think difference between them is that Francis would dribble for 20 seconds and then jack up the ball or pass and Westbrook just jacks up the ball or pass as soon as he passes midcourt. Westbrook actually gives his team more time to operate the offense. That is why his team is more successful and more fun to watch.
Westbrook is a supreme athlete and quite capable of taking games over. I would never take him over Harden, though, cuz Westbrook's a dummy. I couldn't take watching him on my team without screaming, yelling, and eventually tossing my TV out the window.
LOL. That's an interesting take. Francis was more athletic. That's why he got significantly more rebounds (and dunks, duh). Westbrook is more skilled, better shooter, better passer. I'd take Westbrook over Francis any day, aside from Westbrook's anger management problem.
