Why? They're still top 3 in the west. Not to mention it's been 3 games..let's wait till at least All-Star break to knee jerk.
The internal conflicts are not anything new. It's just that winning patches over a lot of problems. When the team isn't winning -- 2L so far -- then those things surface in an amplified way.
Wasn't it from a Woj or Grantland article (sorry if you were joking - so hard to tell on a computer). In any case, it's been established in a number of articles that he was willing to take less - but he didn't want to be screwed over by giving them a discount, only to have them trade him later to someone else. That was what had happened to Rondo - he took less than the max, and then the Celtics tried to trade him for Chris Paul. Harden was trying to avoid that. He wasn't demanding more money, UNLESS they shipped him out. Since his discount was intended for OKC, it didn't seem fair to give it to them and then find out he was traded. Also, with respect to other people's views that this was a money play because Harden should have accepted the offer, keep in mind that Presti said, Harden, you have one hour to decide. I think most reasonable people would have considered that posturing; after all he's meant to the club, to give him an increased offer but only 1 hour to decide the next 4 years of his life seems a little unreasonable. Seems to me Presti was more interested in laying down the law and making an example then working with Harden. Finally, I think OKC blew it. Yes, they probably got 85 cents on the dollar and got more than ORL (the idiots) did for Dwight. However, they should have signed Harden, and then amnestied or traded Perkins. They chose to pay Durant (full 5 years), give Westbrook 5 years, forced Harden to play behind Sefolosha, pay Perkins, pay Ibaka, and now they say, sorry we can't pay you even though you're taking one for the team by agreeing to come off the bench? Their mistake, our benefit.
It's probably crossed Durant's mind that he would like to reunite with Harden. OK, probably not. But while I used to cheer for the Thunder, outside of my Rockets, I will now cheer against them in hopes this all goes horribly awry and Durant leaves via FA. Selfish? Yes. Long shot? Hell yes. Fun to dream about? Undoubtedly.
The media is being far too harsh on okc and presti for breaking up a great trio. While there's nothing wrong with a player wanting to get paid, especially a top five pick, you have to understand the ego of a 23 year old who needed more of the ball was also in play. Making the finals, dating celebs, yacht parties... It affects the psyche of a guy entering a world with no ceilings. Taking slightly less than the max wasn't the deal breaker - but forever relegated to a 3rd wheel who was also underpaid? While the thunder went ahead and kept perk, paid ibaka .. it wasnt compatible with his destiny as a great one. We all knew the thunder were heading into cap territory a small town team couldn't happen. The no trade clause is a nice out for the media to try and find a villain like the bitter ex gfs they've become. Presti has A LOT of faith in Ibaka's development, that's what will really define this trade. Westbrook may not be a high iq guy but he's a matchup nightmare. That's what playoff games boil down to. Let's see how many ppl are calling for presti's head come May. Great pickup for the rockets. 3 years of trying so hard to bring home a beautiful girl and finally they get one by playing it cool and not offering her a complimentary ipad. That is the saddest **** I've ever heard. The real test comes this February / summer - who will they throw all that cash at?
Simmons almost always $**** the bed when it comes to his predictions and assessments. However, he's decently well connected in the NBA at this point. Unlike a lot of media types that are fed by agents, Simmons almost exclusively has relationships with front office types. Not a ton, but enough. When he spills inside stuff, it's legit. Presti made a good call in that he's seen enough firesales (Carmelo, Dwight LeBron) that he knew that his best return was going to be from the Jazz/Deron Williams route. Don't let things hang forever, don't scrimp and beg for 47 cents on the dollar. Rip the band aid, move on. He got a top scoring vet as a placeholder replacement, a potential long term replacement on a rookie deal, and two more draft picks to help maintain cheap depth as payroll swells. The downside is, he didn't replace Harden's most critical strength - facilitating the offense and keeping everyone happy. Now, you've got another pure shooter mixing in with Westbrook and Durant and no one that is naturally happy feeding others. Plus, there's a steep drop off in defense you have to hide. They'll be fine as they adjust to their new normal.
Some more quotes for the media to run with. http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--j...him-more-time-to-consider-offer-06561809.html Exhibit A Exhibit B Take your pick and run with what gets the fan sentiment. This ain't about the truth. It's about google adsense and showing people you deserve to have a job.
Wow dude youre clearly overthinking things... It was pretty clear harden wanted to stay in okc, perhaps not at the exact terms they offered, but there's zero doubt where his heart was.
It doesn't equal more money if you're not traded. That's why teams don't usually give out trade kickers, if you give a player that esp. on a max contract you're gonna be tied to that player for the duration of the contract. I think given a choice, Harden would have wanted to stay in OKC and would have sacrificed both money and starting spot to stay, and both he and his agent wanted a trade kicker so he wouldn't be traded and have his loyalty turned against him. IIRC Harden and his agent practically begged for 1 more week to consider the offer and would have probably resigned anyway if Presti gave them that week. That's not to say Harden wasn't happy here, its obvious he enjoys being the man and having that extra 20M. But like the other poster said, it's obvious where his heart was. OKC is like perpetual college, you have everyone clapping and cheering and he'd be playing wiht a team with everyone around his age.
