I was supposed to sit down to write an assignment. I’d just put out a smoke and was preparing to knuckle down to right the last 1500 words on Rousseau and inequality after a quick Twitter check this Sunday arvo.
The first thing I see?
“James Harden and his beard on his way to Houston.”
Right, well, so much for getting any work done. For the next hour until my mobile died I was looking up everything I could on the trade. Looks like Harden + filler (Daequan Cook and Cole Aldrich) for Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb and draft picks.
An hour later, after I’d calmed down, my reaction was still the same.
OKC made a massive mistake here.
Here’s the thing. If you have a potential championship core, you hold that core together. You pay your most important guys whatever the hell they want to keep them together because the money you make from being the best team in the league (or even one of the best two or three) will pay for several luxury taxes. If they’re willing to take a little less money, great. But when you have two guys who’re making the max, why should the others not get paid what they’re worth?
I thought OKC got this. They gave Westbrook a max deal (which he deserved) and re-signed Ibaka for probably a little more than he was worth, but had he gone on the open market he would have fetched far more. That left just James Harden, the bearded Sixth Man of the Year. Harden’s skillset isn’t one that comes around every day – a multi-faceted offensive guard who can be a spot-up shooter, get his own shot one-on-one, get to the rim and create for others. He was vital to that OKC team not only because of what he can do but because he was willing to do it all coming off the bench and carrying the second unit. Not a lot of guys would be willing to do that.
The only possible reasoning I can see behind this is that Clay Bennett was too cheap to pay for Harden and hid behind the small market/new punitive luxury tax argument. This would make some sense for your average small market team, but OKC don’t have any right to cry poverty for two reasons:
1) Bennett moved the team from a big market to a small one. If you want to do that, fine, but then don’t use your market size to bitch when it’s your own fault you’re there.
2) OKC are one of the most popular teams in the league, and Harden one of the most popular players. His game combined with his beard and unique, slightly spacey personality has made him a cult hero in the NBA. I see more guys wearing Harden jerseys on the courts of Sydney than I do even Durant when it comes to OKC players alone. That guy will make you a lot of money on his own and being part of a championship team will make you even more.
Do I think it kills the Thunder’s chances? Not totally. Kevin Martin isn’t as multi-talented as Harden is – he’s more of a pure spot-up shooter – but he’s still a very good player who’ll get plenty of looks in OKC if he’s willing to play the sixth man role. The greater impact this trade will have is on the team chemistry. Scotty Brooks now has to re-jig the second unit to fit Martin’s skillset (a test for him – as I’ve said I’m not convinced he’s a good coach) and Durant/Westbrook have lost their buddy and have to get used to playing with a new guy. On a bad team this doesn’t mean a lot but on a team like OKC gunning for a title, every little thing matters.
Is it a good move for Harden and the Rockets? Again, I’m not sure. There’s a famous story going around about how he wrote to Sam Presti before the 2009 draft asking OKC to pick him, claiming that he was more interested in being part of a winning team than carrying the load every night like he would have had to on some of the other sides. In Houston he’s going to be the No.1 offensive option every night and defenses will be keying on him. (On another note, Jeremy Lin is probably pretty happy about now). That said, Daryl Morey has been more desperate to land a star player than a guy throwing $100s in a strip club – now he has one. I previously had the Rockets at 23 wins but now I suspect they may be more like 30-35.
In my book, Harden was the third-best player on that Thunder team and therefore the third most important guy. I had always imagined Ibaka would have been the one to get traded because, as good as he is, hyper-athletic forwards who can block shots are easier to find. OKC would have been better served continuing to talk with Harden’s team and, if they hadn’t blinked before the deadline, moving Ibaka once they were able to do so and re-signing Harden then when money wasn’t an issue as much.
If OKC win a title in the next few years, of course this whole article will be moot. But if Kevin Durant comes off contract in 4-5 years and he doesn’t have a ring yet, it may be time to look back and wonder if this is the moment where the Thunder let it slip away.
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vs San Antonio - Game 6 (L) 17/05/13
70%
Andrew Bogut (GSW)
Patrick Mills (SAS)
Aron Banyes (SAS)
9 Comments until now.
You’re bang on Ash, OKC are fools
i think harden got a bit greedy. 54 mil is pretty good over 4 years. 60 was offered by the rockets. so he switched to a rebuilding team gave up possible rings for 1.5 mil a year more. now that’s greedy. the other 3 thunder players took a little less to stay together.
one thing i think the thunder made a mistake with is letting cole aldrich go. he’s got a lot of talent and Perkins should have been dumped before him.
Word. My thoughts exactly Ash.
This was an aggressive move when the Thunder have always been about gradual improvement. Don’t get it.
I don’t know if I totally agree with ya, I will need it to melo first, I was in shock like everyone I think.
But when you seriously think about it, I’m not so sure it’s all that bad.
Martin can score but no D, he could buy into it though and he expiring (who knows who will come to OKC for a little less to win, they still can make even more room by cutting Perk), Lamb could be anything, could be a gem….. and Toronto’s 1st round pick could be the next big thing.
I think it looks good on paper. But I guess like everything we will have to wait and see.
Both teams got value here but all those picks could hurt Houston, this wasn’t a Pau Gasol trade (thank Christ)
Dave – the other three guys didn’t take less. Westbrook and Durant are both making max (as they should be) and Ibaka is about appropriately paid. Harden may not be a superstar but young borderline All-Star guards who haven’t hit their prime yet are worth the max in the NBA.
I also heard a story today on Around The Horn where Bomani Jones said that Presti gave Harden one hour to decide on the contract offer. That’s not hardball, that’s just stupid. He should have had at least a day or two.
Teals – Harden wasn’t exactly All-Defense either, so that’s not a huge deal. I still think the Thunder would have been best served amnestying Perkins and paying Harden. Cole Aldrich can fill space in the lane and doesn’t need plays run for him – that’s about all they need from a center anyway.
Like I said, I’m with ya Ash, but what you just said there about Cole Aldrich being ok to do the job isn’t right. The only level I can understand the trade is them wanting to ultimately keep Perkins (and not amnesty him) purely to battle Dwight Howard in the coming years. You can’t throw scrubs at Howard and think that will do the job, and Perkins has shown that he can play him quite well. That’s clearly a huge part of their thinking on this trade I think. But again, I would have done the same – pay Harden.
No one should fault Harden here, he shouldn’t be expected to take less than market value. And the Thunder crying “small market” when the ownership group willingly moved them to that market is beyond hilarious.
Deaksy – I should have said “If OKC were that worried about the luxury tax” along with my Perkins comment. Realistically, they could and should have kept that entire team together. There was a title in that core – all it would have taken was Durant to fire in the Finals which isn’t a ludicrous thought.
I agree with you that Perkins is the best Dwight Howard stopper in the league and they’re gonna need him over the next couple years.
Well put. But this is not their first mistake – Presti is over-rated. Cancelled the trade that would have got them Tyson Chandler, who then helped Dallas beat OKC and then beat Miami who OKC then lost to the next year. Also traded the rights to Eric Bledsoe for a cup of nothing. He was extremely lucky with the draft and with Durant/Wesbrook they are never going to be terrible enough to land another high lottery pick. The only other way to get more talent without giving up talent in a trade is signing free agents – and the likelihood of them having enough money under the cap to ever get someone of Harden’s ability again is just not going to happen. But if Jeremy Lamb becomes a star, I’ll have to eat some of my words.
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