I think that Harden was extremely fatigued...having to guard a bigger James...and changed his game... Now they lost the guy who they had matched up with James...and replaced him with 2 guys with suspect defense... The Thunder will regret this trade in the long run.... Westbrook and Durant just wont be as efficient...
They really didn't have a choice. They didn't want to pay the tax. Smart move long term for OKC, and win win for both teams. Oh, and Serge is the new member of the big three...
Unlike most people here, I'm not an OKC fan. I still hold it against them that they stole the Sonics from Seattle and I wish them whatever misfortune can befall them. I don't think they'll be much worse for wear though: Harden was being underutilized and they probably are better off for long-term sustainability with the assets they got; meanwhile Martin/Lamb will probably pick up most of the slack left by Harden. I don't think they take a step back.
To a certain extent its sad that a small market team couldn't afford to hold on to one of its landmark players because of the Luxury Tax. At the same token it serves that b*stard for tricking the people of Seattle. I want the Thunder to witness near ultimate success, then watch it all fall apart because it was built on a sack of lies and bad karma.
i was never rooting for OKC, but it is a shame. Just like I was never rooting for the Suns during Amar'e / Nash days, but it was still a shame that they let Joe Johnson go. If they end up never winning a title, there will always be a lingering 'what if'.
Agree with JV's post, except for the first sentence. Harden is a great talent, and while I loved him in OKC, I'm still happy to watch him play for the Rockets. So, unlike most OKC fans there is no sting of 'losing' Harden. So, I'm coming from a different perspective than most of my fellow denizens. I hope he becomes a superstar, but there were redundancy issues with him in OKC. So, yes there will be a decline in quality, but hopefully the decline in production will not be too pronounced. When he was with WB and KD, two of the players did a lot of ball watching. (Have to give Brooks credit, he did implement more cuts to the basket away from the ball.) When he was alone on the 2nd unit, he ball dominated. But, most of the time while on the floor with WB and KD, Harden's minutes can be replaced and possibly improved upon by someone like KMart. The second unit on the other hand? The OKC second unit last year was terrible, and with that unit, Harden was able to consistently feast on the opposing benches. I am hoping that the addition of PJ3, Maynor, and Martin make up some of Harden's departure. But, the loss will probably be felt there. (Nazr was a negative - as Thabeet will be there year: really hoping for very limited minutes by Thabeet. Fingers crossed!) Lamb and the draft picks are appreciable assets that can either be traded or utilized and developed. (Harden was brought along slowly on a team that had just finished 23-59, so unless Lamb is just flat out amazing, he should spend a lot of time in Tulsa.) So, yes, OKC loses part of their top heavy rotation, but they should have a stronger foundation and a cushion for 2016-17/18 when KD, WB, and Ibaka become UFA. Last note: I would most definitely rather have the abrupt trade than the Dwight Howard situation. I appreciate the pragmatic approach from Presti. I had already seen columns mentioning the other players being tired of being asked about the contract situation.
Only if the thunders were in LA they would have matched it. Sucks to be in a small market in the nba with no salary cap
