^^^^^ Exactly. The trade was by far one of the worst in history because they could have avoided losing him if they would have simply amnestied a worthless player. Its not that Adams, Lamb, Martin rental, & the Dallas pick are that bad.. that was actually a good trade for any player, but its the fact that they really didn't have to do it that really makes this trade what it is.... which is the worst of trade of the past 10 years at least.
Neither trade was even bad, considering all the circumstances. Two worst things GM's can do: 1. overpaying players 2. trading 1st round picks for expiring contracts Basically both avoided doing no.1, Bledsoe wouldn't get enough minutes, Harden wouldn't get enough shot attempts to justify max contract.
Nothing else matters? That makes no sense at all. So Eric Bledsoe and Mike Conley are volume shooters? You do realize that Harden is a career .366% 3 point shooter, right? By your definition OJ Mayo wouldn't be a volume shooter since he's currently averaging 53.2% from the 3pt line. Now, if you actually look at the true shooting percentage you'd find that Harden's is higher (60% - same as last year) than Mayo's (56%). Likewise Harden averages more points per FG Attempt (1.49) than Mayo does (1.20). So if Harden takes less shots to get his points then how is he a volume shooter and Mayo's not? Since "nothing else matters except 3 point shooting", then was Shaq a volume shooter? How about Magic?
How good is Harden, really. Is he really the best shooting guard, or just the best in terms of stats.
There is still a lot of basketball to be played and no one in the Western Conference appears to be a force, which means that if a team like the Rockets or Clippers gel, they could go on a long winning streak and win the west. If the Rockets gel and go on a run, someone on our team is going to get attention for our success and that is probably going to be James. Further, Harden is shooting far better on long jumpers and in the paint, he is shooting 55% on two pointers, the area where he is struggling is at the three point line which he should improve on. If his three shoot improves he could easily jump 2-4 points a game and be in contention for the MVP. That does not even consider that some of his struggles offensively and defensively have been because of his toes being hamburger meat and banged up ankles. He still needs to defend better overall (like Sampson said, Harden is either elite defensively or terrible, no middle ground) and he needs to be more of a leader off the floor. Lets remember he is 24 years old and this is his second year as a starter and the last 3 years has had to adjust his game to other players. I personally do not think that Harden will ever be an MVP, he is close, but not quite that calibur player, but he is the best SG in the NBA and is capable of being a #1 or #2 option on Finals calibur team.
What just said "nothing else matters besides 3 point shooting" hahahahahahahah. That's one of his better quotes, I must say.
They didn't know it was going to be a No. 1 pick to Cleveland. They had to unload Baron Davis, who was a much worse distraction that Asik is now. Keep in mind, this was before the amnesty waiver thingy. If they had kept the No. 1 pick in Irving, they probably wouldn't have gone after Chris Paul. The worst trade by far was Clippers sending Zach Randolph to Memphis, for almost nothing in return.
I don't expect Bledsoe to maintain his current shooting efficiency. I think he's essentially a smaller version of Steve Francis. Very good player, potentially an all-star, but probably not a true franchise cornerstone (or a true PG, for that matter). Oh, and what has basically been a troll for the last three years or so.
---Volume scorer - analytics are against him. ---Volume scorer - analytics are against him. ---Can shoot the 3. Therefore, better than Michael Jordan.
