Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/20...t-a-qa-with-michael-jordan.html#storylink=cpy Wonder what the offer is. The only real valuable piece they got is MKG, I think.
I think a simliar deal as the Rockets would be something like MKG + pick with unprotected pick, or perhaps top-2 protection or something. But the Bobcats are so devoid of talent that a 2-for-1 deal was probably not a good idea.
MKG + Bobcats 1st is a pretty good offer (if that was offfered), but MKG can't play SG and won't be able to contribute right away (KMart can immediately replace Harden's scoring), plus I suspect Harden may not extend with Charlotte.
Thought it was said that Presti shopped around. The Suns GM was saying that it would taken too much for them to get Harden. Morey and Presti are pretty much the same kind of GM and I think Morey offered Presti what Morey would have taken if he were in the same situation. A expiring contract and draftpicks...plus a prospect.
There's no way that Charlotte would offer MKG + an unprotected first. That pick could well end up being Shabazz Muhammad. Even something like MKG + a top 5 protected pick seems like a very steep price to pay for a player that hasn't (really) established himself as a true superstar yet. Our offer doesn't even compare to something like that - I think a lot of people on this board underestimate the value of a top 5 pick in this league.
The Thunder got fair value in return. They are in a WIN NOW mode and getting MKG + a top 5 unprotected pick is nice. Really nice in fact but they wouldn't be contenders this year no matter how well MKG plays. They got what they needed to contend now and add good pieces in the future. If that offer was in fact on the table I would've liked to have seen a 3 way trade going down. I think we would've been all over MKG + unprotected top 5 because we're under a different circumstance compared to OKC but I think we're all A okay with Harden.
Agreed. No way that the 1st rounder that was (presumably) being offered by Charlotte was unprotected. A foundation of potentially Shabazz + MKG is a lot more valuable than Harden + fillers. That, plus the fact that the Bobcats couldn't really offer a stopgap/expiring combo like Kevin Martin, and the deal really doesn't make sense from either team's standpoint. The Rockets offer probably trumped the Bobcats' offer from the start.
Conversation went like this: Presti: Mike, these picks are nice, but I'm going to need your second rounder as well. Jordan: I think Houston has it. Presti: I'll call you back. <click>
If I remember correctly the shot of the Bobcats board on draft day was MKG straight up for Harden. Presti, unlike Jordan, is a pretty decent evaluator of talent. I can't imagine how hard he laughed at that proposal.
yep, i remember that one too. but the rumor was #2 for Harden pre-draft. Which seems more believable --- no one uses their #2 pick and only then starts making calls. anyway, I don't think Presti was ready to sell Harden until very recently, after the contract negotiations.
Probably the biggest stumbling block. I mean, sure Harden's first priority is the money, but Charlotte is like the bottom of the barrel, why would he sign an extension there if a bajillion other teams are willing to give him the same amount of money? At least Houston already had Lin+some other intriguing young guys. Prior to MKG Charlotte had nothing...that team had one of the worst win/loss differentials in NBA history.
That Charlotte first rounder that would have sent with MKG would most likely have been an out of the lottery pick. Harden would have pushed that improved team into the playoffs in the East.
Well if you think about it all we really gave OKC was a stop gap (win now), Lamb (decent prospect)+low lotto pick (8-14 range). MKG is better than all those by himself, plus if they added their 1st next year I don't see why its a no brainer. OKC does want to win now, but at the same time with KD/WB locked up for the next 5 years and both of them under 26 its not like they're living on borrowed time here, esp. with Lakers having 4 stars and Miami still going strong. IMHO they take that offer, start MKG and have Thabo come off the bench as a poor man's Harden. Next year they add Shabazz or Noel or whoever and then they're set. Most likely: 1) Bobcats just want to trade their number 2 and not their pick next year 2) Harden balked at signing an extension with the worst team in the L, esp. since he'd be all alone for the next year.
Harden's great, but he's not a transcendental star like LBJ or DH. No way he takes the worst team in the league last year and then makes them playoff by himself. Who's he gonna play with?
