With Harden becoming a free agent in 2013 the Thunder could use their pick plus Harden to trade up.You would have a talented young player coming to the reigning WC Champion(or even NBA Champion).
im shocked at how some people here at CF are so delusional about some really obvious things. Either that or I just got completely trolled. You really think they will let Harden go? Well in that case, lets wait for Miami's LeBron James to come off contract. I am sure they could use him and other picks to trade up. There is no way they can afford to pay LeBron James at his salary.
You really think the Thunder can pay Harden? If Harden is straight business he will expect the money he thinks he deserves.If the Thunder are straight business they'll know that and rather trade him than lose him for nothing
Their core will want to stay together, Haren or Ibaka will take less mnoey to keep the group together to compete for more rings.
Would be a seldom attitude but definitely good for league. Like I said it depends how Harden and the Thunder think
the rule of thumb is the first contract the young'ns look to get paid, so harden and ibaka will want their full worth unless this whole thunder culture really affected them, and then when they are vets they will be more open
You make it sound like they lose nothing if Harden leaves. Guess what? Harden IS a "talented young player" who I suspect is better than anyone in this draft besides Anthony Davis.
You should understand Harden isn't even a restricted FA until 2013. Gets your facts straight. 100% chance he plays next season in OKC. Assuming they win a championship the next 2 weeks, why would OKC break up what they painstakingly built when they don't have to? Makes no sense at all. Also, tell us all who in the draft as a rookie would bring half of what Harden does.
I misread your OP when you said OKC might trade Harden. You actually think they might trade Harden now knowing he can't negotiate with another team until next year. smh.
Exactly. Harden can't get the big money from OKC so the Thunder might have to replace him 2013.But with nearly no cap space and a late first round pick it is difficult.
Just not gonna happen. They're gonna play it out all the way through next season and see what Harden becomes. They're gonna match the offers. And then after that, they will start making decisions on what to do with Harden/Westbrook/Ibaka/Perkins.
They don't need cap space to sign him with Bird Rights, and OKC isn't exactly drowning in red ink. They can afford to keep their big 3 - the question is how much Ibaka is going to command down the line.
yeah because if a accident happens to where they cant play anymore, they will be happy they took that little contract. Thats smart.
down the line? Your acting as if Ibaka contract is up after Harden. They both up for a new one same time. If OKC doesnt want to pass the cap, they are going to have to give up Perkins and then one of big three later on down the road. People need to stop acting as if they know the owners as well. We dont know if he cares about the cap or not. Stop acting as if he will spend money to possibly make money.
I freely admit to having no inkling of an idea on what Presti is planning on doing. But, the last two seasons there have been some leaks in the draft room, so we will probably get some information beforehand. "Taking less money" is probably not an option. Kevin Durant didn't. He went the opposite direction, and ended up receiving more than he had initially signed for after the CBA changed the rules. Westbrook could have demanded more if he had waited to sign, but he most certainly accepted the maximum he could have at the time he signed*. (But at least they both agreed to maximum number of years with no player options.) However, I expect them to match any contract for Ibaka/Harden, since they can trade one of them if they feel the salary is too much of a burden. It will be their first year in Luxury Tax land, so the penalty won't be as steep in the short term. Going forward: My hope has been that Perkins is the wheel that is let go and that either Cole can at least fill one of Perkin's shoes or that Ibaka can slide over to Center with a 'point forward'** or 'stretch 4' stepping in. But, I really just hope Cole can L2P. (He has had flashes, but has never been good enough to replace Perkins nor the steadying hands of Nazr/Collison, and while he has not looked bad, but he has definitely looked nervous and frantic out there.) *Not 100% certain on the new CBA rules. **Royce White?
I have asked a question elsewhere: "What if OKC trades Harden and Ibaka for Davis?" It will never ever happen but if it did - WOW! Would we have something to talk about for months?
Perkins has 3yrs/$25 million left. Clearly he's back next season before they have to pay Harden or Ibaka. IMO the primary question is can Ibaka be moved to C in 2013. Perkins at 2yrs/$17.5 million left should not be hard to trade if he's healthy. I don't have much hope for Cole but you never know. If he can become an above-average post-defender, OKC could plug him in and keep rolling. If Maynor comes back strong, he's definitely a goner in 2013. A lot to consider. I don't think Harden will get the max and Ibaka won't come close to it.
I did not mean to imply amnesty/cut - let alone do it this offseason. While they may not get much back for Perkins, they would be able to trade him somewhere. Final 2 years: $8,477,437//$9,154,342 compared to... DeAndre Jordan: $10,986,550//$11,440,123 I don't think Cole would even need to be above average on defense for the team to continue, assuming he can make up for it with a little more offensive acuity. Yeah, the Maynor contract is another issue, complicated by his injury. However, I feel that Jackson was a preemptive move for his impending departure.
Barring major injury, OKC could win out the next 15 years with this roster. Why would they want to move any of their assets? They just showed the Heat the real MVP, the real Big Three. All their role players are good. They just wrecked the league. Even Stern's refs won't be able to block them in favor of some big-market finals match-up. It's going to be tough for anyone--especially our Rockets-- to challenge OKC for the foreseeable future. I bet Morey did some heavy sighing while watching OKC reel off four straight over the Spurs. I hear that "Oh the humanity!" radio call, when the Hindenberg crashed and burned, when I think of us drafting at #14 again.
