187 replies to this topic

[Hollywood]

Rockets will make the playoffs this year probably low seed but a spot in none the less.

[Viper]

I swear none of you know basketball if you think this was a dumb trade for thunder if anything this was a dumb trade for Houston

Houston gave away multiple picks as well. Knowing Presti, they'll be first round picks...

[KittenPuncher]

I swear none of you know basketball if you think this was a dumb trade for thunder if anything this was a dumb trade for Houston

Let's see how efficient Harden can be without Westbrook and Durant

[MDI]

http://blog.newsok.c...ded-to-houston/

The Oklahoma City Thunder has traded reigning Sixth Man of the Year James Harden, The Oklahoman has learned.

Harden will be sent to Houston for Kevin Martin, rookie Jeremy Lamb, two first-round picks and a second-round pick. The Thunder is also sending center Cole Aldrich and guards Daequan Cook and Lazar Hayward to the Rockets.

The deal comes on the heels of negligible progress being made on a contract extension for Harden following nearly four months of negotiating. As a result, the Thunder parted ways with the fan favorite after stagnant talks made it clear Harden would be too much of a financial burden to keep.

If no deal was reached on an extension by Wednesday’s midnight Eastern deadline, Harden would have become a restricted free agent next summer. Houston is believed to now be ready to ink Harden to the maximum-allowable contract that Harden has long been believed to covet.

A report by Yahoo! Sports on Saturday said Harden recently turned down a four-year extension worth roughly $52 million. The report also was the latest to say Harden is pushing for a max deal, expected to be roughly $60 million over four years.

But with max contracts extended to Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook — as well as more than $52 million invested in Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins over the next three seasons alone — the Thunder faced the possibility of stiff penalties under the new, more punitive collective bargaining agreement.

Had the Thunder been able to ink Harden to a $13 million annual contract, a franchise playing in the league’s third smallest market would have owed $67 million to just five players next season. That figure would have increased to $70 million in 2014-15 for those same five players.

The tax threshold for this season is $70.3 million. Starting next season, teams must pay an incremental rate starting at $1.50 for every dollar they exceed the threshold.

NBA commissioner David Stern has trumpeted “player sharing” in this new collective bargaining agreement, and the Thunder becomes the first team to fall victim to the more stringent rules.

Oklahoma City will receive a protected first-round pick from Toronto in 2013, a pick the Raptors sent Houston in the Kyle Lowry trade, as well as a protected 2013 first-round pick from Dallas, which the Rockets received from the Lakers in last year’s Derek Fisher trade.

The second-round pick is 2013 selection belonging to Charlotte. Houston acquired it from Boston in the Courtney Lee trade. It’s the same pick the NBA recently forced the Thunder to convey to the Celtics as compensation for Jeff Green missing the entire 2011-12 season with a heart condition.

Martin, a 6-foot-7 shooting guard, is a career 18.4-point scorer who is known for his perimeter shooting and efficiency. The 29-year-old Martin is entering his ninth season and will make $12.9 million in the final year of his contract.

Lamb, this year’s 13th overall pick, averaged 17.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.2 steals last season as a sophomore at Connecticut. Lamb, 20, is among the most athletic rookies in this year’s class.
Harden will make his lone appearance inside Chesapeake Energy Arena as a member of the Rockets on Nov. 28.

[West Coast]

This hurts OKC a little bit. Lamb is another year away and Martin will need to stay healthy to have an impact (not as big as Harden's though). Harden was a huge piece for the Thunder.

Houston gets a very good player who gets his chance to start.

[True Lakers Fan]

I'm in shocked... didn't expect this happen this soon, especially not till the trade deadline at least

[Michaelyumm]

WOW!! OKC WINS THIS TRADE!!! only if Jeremy Lamb lives up to his potential

[magicbalala245]

Wow OKC seriously under rated James Harden I'm not saying I'm paying the guy but make one last run to the title with this Big 3 of KD, Russy, and Harden to the title.

[pkflyers]

they probably didnt want him to walk for nothing at the end of the season, but man they couldnt atleast got something better for harden?

from a la fans perspective, i like this trade tho

[L.A.K.E.R]

The twitter updated with 6 new tweets seconds after I posted that I couldn't see them.

Interesting deal, definitely a move for the future salary-wise. If Lamb lives up to the hype this is an excellent deal for the Thunder stalling on having to hand out yet another big deal to a potential star. I'm not as afraid of them now with Harden gone to be honest, he brought a different dimension to them coming off the bench. Not at all afraid of Kevin Martin and his glass body. They must really be keen on Eric Maynor coming back at 100% if they were willing to part with Harden so quickly.

[Gotrings?]

Seems like Sam Presti didn't want to play any games and have any distractions headed into the regular season. But wow, no one on earth saw this coming.

[magicbalala245]

they probably didnt want him to walk for nothing at the end of the season, but man they couldnt atleast got something better for harden?

from a la fans perspective, i like this trade tho

Of course I love this trade from our perspective with the Lakers the path just got a little easier to make the Finals.

[Gotrings?]

they probably didnt want him to walk for nothing at the end of the season, but man they couldnt atleast got something better for harden?

from a la fans perspective, i like this trade tho

Definitely.

[Hollywood]

They are gambling on Lamb, it would be a gamble i would take too. But looks like they want to continue to get quality players for cheap in the draft considering they will have a lottery pick, or so they hope.

[MDI]

- This hurts OKC in the short term which helps the Lakers (since we're only worrying really about this year and next year)
- OKC gets better long term because Jeremy Lamb is a good player. Martin expiring contracts allow them to play in Free agent market, they can use that Toronto pick to bag a nice young role player in the draft (mid teens pick)

I think both teams win.

[West Coast]

I'm in shocked... didn't expect this happen this soon, especially not till the trade deadline at least

Definitely shocking.

Thunder should have waited till the deadline.

[RayRay]

wow obviously unexpected but good for us tho

[MDI]

That is NICE. Both are gonna be in the 15 to 20 range probably

https://twitter.com/WojYahooNBA/statuses/262388508382081024?tw_i=262388508382081024&tw_e=details&tw_p=tweetembed

Houston sends two 2013 first-round picks (from Dallas and Toronto) to Oklahoma CIty, source tells Y!

[Gotrings?]

Houston sends two 2013 first-round picks (from Dallas and Toronto) to Oklahoma CIty, source tells Y!

[Michaelyumm]

We don' t know what Jeremy Lamb can do yet. I will keep a close eye on his game and see if he's worth the hype. I see a lot of analysts comparing him to Reggie Miller, but all I see is a better version of Deshawn Stevenson!