In a single trade, Sam Presti in a weird way lost two top 10 players for the post-season - Harden and Westbrook. Had he not traded Harden to us, there is no way for our matchup and Beverley's steal attempt. What did he get? Likely one-year of Kevin Martin, D-league all-star Jeremy Lamb, and probably #12 pick in a very weak draft. I'm not blaming Presti for the trade, but it worked out horribly for OKC.
Couldn't bump the other trade threads? I should copy this somewhere, since I have to add it every time someone brings up the trade. Also get Charlotte's second round pick and a future first from Dallas. They could all be busts, or one could turn out to be another Ibaka.
The meniscus tear is considered to be minimal – perhaps 2 percent of the meniscus, one source said – and Westbrook’s recovery could be weeks instead of months, if the doctor decides to simply “clean up” the meniscus. A full repair of the meniscus would likely mean a three-month recovery for Westbrook. Blake Griffin got back 6 days after same injury. MWP 12 days this season. Next round doesn't start for another 9 days.
This argument makes absolutely no sense... You know if the bulls had never drafted Rose he wouldnt be injured right now: If LA hadnt made the trade for dwight they would still have kobe...
DeAleck, as has been pointed out to you multiple times already, the logic fails. That said, it's a valid point "generally". nobody thought Kevin Martin was going to ever be able to step in as a true go to player. Harden had that, even last year. It wasn't clear how much of that he had, but it was at least somewhat clear he could fill in in a go-to way, when needed. So Presti clearly did give up his "insurance" in case of an injury. Harden could have theoretically stepped in and kept the Thunder very competitive in case of either a Durant or Westbrook injury. Not championship winning competitive, but they weren't that anyway last year (though close). It was probably very very very low on Presti's lists of negatives of trading Harden. It's a hindsight issue. You can't know what you can't know. I contended before I would have traded Westbrook instead of Harden anyway. Westbrook could have netted them an even better package... and now, that's clearly the better move (short-term at least). Imagine if the Thunder traded Westbrook to the Sixers, for example, for Jrue Holiday, Iggy and Vucevic. That probably wouldn't have even seemed like enough, but again, in hindsight, the Thunder could be rolling with: PG: Holiday, backup SG: Harden, backup SF: Durant, Iggy PF: Serge, Collison C: Vucevic, Perkins Again, it's hindsight. And still a weak bench, but the above is a better team.
Tell me this is a joke. There's now way Russell Westbrook would have netted them Holiday, Iguodala and Vucevic.
They definitely would have. Holiday was averaging 13.5 pts and 4.5 ast per game last year, basically a very average or below average starter with potential. Iggy was declining. Vucevic was averaging 5.5 pts, 4.8 rebs per game with 45% FG% as a center, with limited potential (we thought). Anyone in their right mind would have made that trade. Now? I'm not sure if you even trade Vucevic straight up for Russell Westbrook. As a player only comparison, sure. But you get Vucevic at minimal salary for 2 more years. Also, he just averaged 13 pts, 12 rebs per game in 33 minutes as a 22 year old. Most bigs don't develop this fast. Wow. That's a legit 7 footer with size (240 lbs with room to grow).
It's a win-win trade, and WB will be back and beasting for another decade. OKC has some of the best young talent on their bench. Reggie Jackson is very underrated. I still expect OKC vs Spurs in western final.
They traded 2 of those three for Bynum. And again, this is hindsight. Vucevic wasn't what he's become (or they would have never done the Bynum deal anyway, even if Bynum was healthy, and Holiday was nowhere close to what he was this year... in fact he had just regressed a bit from the prior year. Would the Thunder had to have thrown in Thabo? Sure, why not. Who cares... it's still a team, in hindsight, you'd rather have. And, frankly, the package would have been more likely scoffed at by Presti than the 76ers. Iggy is viewed as an aging shell of his former self - in a lot of ways, Thabo-esque, so probably not needed. Holiday, as noted, was regressing (seemingly, or at least flatlining) and would have been a clear downgrade from Westbrook, and Vucevic was a 15 mpg backup... if a very efficient one on a per 36 basis. Yes, exactly. Again, it's using hindsight, so not fair. But it is fair to say Westbrook has always been the one, from a gameplan perspective, that has been problematic. Even in game 2 we saw some of that in the 4th. AND, PG is a seemingly easier position to find a near all-star type player than SG. Part of the reason Harden has shot up so quick in the ranks of SGs is because you have Wade, Kobe... and? With PGs you have so so so many potential all-star players. Even on the way better than typical all-star level, you have Rose, Westbrook, CP3, Rondo, Curry, Irving, Westbrook himself and Parker. While it's obvious in hindsight to note they could have gotten a really really solid one in Holiday, even without that knowledge, just look at the Rockets. In hindsight they could have had their choice of Lowry, Dragic, Lin as their point... NONE of whom are all-star or will be (maybe one will sneak in for one year), but all three of whom could have been more than adequate replacement for Westbrook if he was traded for other great pieces in part to make room for Harden to step into the starting lineup. It's neither here or there. Most thought the question was Harden or Serge... and I think Presti won on that one. Not that Serge is a more impactful player than Harden... but if you already have and are 100% committed to Durant/Westbrook, then clearly you stick with Serge (in hindsight). Guy does so many things so well from that big position. The real question should have been Westbrook vs. Harden, and that's where I contend he failed. EDIT: Look at this list of the top 10 SGs in the NBA by si.com from late in the season. http://nba.si.com/2013/03/22/nba-shooting-guards-rankings-kobe-bryant-dwyane-wade/ It's freaking hilarious. Monta, Kevin Martin, JJ Reddick, Joe Johnson, Iguodala (who I guess is a SG now). I don't know the math on impact by position. I'm sure there's some moneyball math there, and maybe that says PG is more important. Doesn't seem like it is, historically, but who knows...
I really don't think it was a win-win trade because the Thunder gave up a chance to win a championship. Martin is not filling Harden's role, he simply cant. It's like trading Bosh for Millsap and saying that Millsap could fill the role. No, because Bosh is a all-star player. It wasn't a bad trade for OKC future wise...so I guess if that is what they are concerned about then it was a good trade for them. I just rather keep Harden for one more year because that trio was the only way they could beat the Heat.
