James Harden Traded....Others to Houston

[venture]

@RealGM: James Harden, Cole Aldrich, Lazar Hayward, Daequan Cook Traded To Houston For Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb, Future Picks

[Jake]

What a nightmare.

[MonkeesFan]

I am shocked at that trade

[CaptDave]

We thought trading Jeff Green was going to have a negative effect but the Thunder improved dramatically. This is similar even though Harden was a better player than Green. Don't forget, we have Eric Maynor back to run the second unit and a couple of these players from Houston are pretty good. Then add in the draft picks and this looks like a good trade. Sam Presti has a pretty good record so far and I think the team will be fine and may even improve.

[Hawk405359]

This years draft class probably isn't going to have anyone major in it, so I'd look to see them shop the picks around to maybe get something for it. Either way, it'll be interesting to see where this goes. I'd have liked to keep Harden, but that wasn't in the cards.

[OKCJapan]

The real problem for the Thunder now is who becomes the sixth man off the bench and gives the needed spark in scoring for the second group? Have mixed feelings about this trade.

[Dustin]

Time for Maynor to step it up!

[adaniel]

It stinks because James Harden was such a fan favorite, but only in his world is he worth more than $52 million. All that talk about sacrifice and playing with "my brothers" was BS. Presti and the team did what they had to do. Very disappointed in Mr. Harden.

I hope he appreciates that extra $8 million for no championships playing for a crappy has-been team like Houston.

[CaptDave]

Probably Kevin Martin. He has a pretty good scoring average. We have Eric Maynor back to run the second unit so barring another catastrophic injury, I think the team is going to be fine.

[OKCJapan]

All the stores in Oklahoma are going to have to clear all the JH merchandise from their inventory; or move it to the 90%off racks. Still have mixed feelings.

Why would JH not be happy with 4 yrs 55 mil. And continue the quest for the title.?

I guess Tremble and Carlson from the Oklahoman were calling it right all along.

[SoonerBoy18]

Imagine all the upset children that was going to be Harden for Halloween. Lol. But Kevin Martin is a great player, we should fine this season. The question I will always wonder about is why would a player turn down 52 million dollars if he had'nt grown up with that kind of money? That is the ultimate sign of greediness to me.

[OSUMom]

I agree that this was greed on Harden's part. He was one of my favorite players. But he is making a huge mistake. Sure he can get more money on a contract and maybe be starter for some other team. But the money that was offered was a lot of money in anyone's world AND at the end of 4 years he has a very good chance of walking away with one or more rings. This was a bad call on his part.

[ljbab728]

For better or worse, this was a business decision. Time will tell who made the best decision. I hold nothing against Harden and I hope he plays very well when OKC beats Houston this year.

[Stan Silliman]

Only negative I see on this trade is the question of who going to be the
back up center. Giving up Harden is one thing but Kendrick still appears gimpy
and Cole A seemed to be the only one with moderate experience.

At least in the pre-season, I didn't see any other center log many minutes,
neither Thabeet nor Daniel Orten seem to be ready for meaningful minutes.

Does Presti have other targets in mind?

[blangtang]

Until we hear something from Harden himself, I'll just put it at the feet of his agent, Rob Pelinka, trying to get the best deal.

[kevinpate]

will the headline read ...
Presti Sheared the Beard

[OKCisOK4me]

All the stores in Oklahoma are going to have to clear all the JH merchandise from their inventory; or move it to the 90%off racks. Still have mixed feelings.

Why would JH not be happy with 4 yrs 55 mil. And continue the quest for the title.?

I guess Tremble and Carlson from the Oklahoman were calling it right all along.

Send the shirts to Africa. They'll make more money via the tax write off than expecting Thunder fans to take the bait. Best of luck to Harden though. Him and Lin playing together will be an awesome duo.

[Easy180]

Probably wanted to start as well and not play third fiddle behind Westbrook and KD...Enjoyed watching you play Harden and good luck

[WilliamTell]

If i was in the same position and had to opportunity to make more money i would take it too. Best wishes to him and im sure he will do well.

[LandRunOkie]

I'd take Martin over Harden any day. Take away the beard and the ref manipulation to get to the free throw line and he had a lot of holes in his game. Martin is much more complete and one of the best scorers in the league.

[bhawes]

Thunder overpaid for Ebuka they gave him 48 million over 4 years. he should of only gotten 36 to 40 over four years.
If Ebuka was average 20 pts 13 rebounds and 4 blocks every game I could see it. So harden feelings was hurt. if Ebuka gets 48 million then Harden felt he shoud get 60 million.

[TaoMaas]

It was a matter of economics. After a certain point, signing Harden would mean we'd have to lose Perkins and Maynor just to keep the payroll somewhat sane. So essentially the Thunder traded Harden for Martin, Lamb, Perkins, Maynor, and high draft pics. Not such a bad deal.

[G.Walker]

For Harden not to take $55.5M instead of $60M and a shot at a ring, tells me it wasn't about the money, but something else going on behind the scenes that we prob didn't know about, and he just didn't want to stay with the Thunder. The sad part is that Cook's, Aldrich's, and Hayward's lives are changed instantly because of the decision of one person, wow!

[TaoMaas]

For Harden not to take $55.5M instead of $60M and a shot at a ring, tells me it wasn't about the money, but something else going on behind the scenes that we prob didn't know about, and he just didn't want to stay with the Thunder.

There were rumors last year that there were some off-court issues with Harden that were worrying the Thunder. Maybe it wasn't that Harden didn't want to stay here, but rather the Thunder who had questions about his future with the team.

[bluedogok]

For better or worse, this was a business decision. Time will tell who made the best decision. I hold nothing against Harden and I hope he plays very well when OKC beats Houston this year.

Yep, pretty much a "business decision" by both sides.