Thunder might trade James Harden tomorrow

[dankrutka]

Obviously you don't pay attention to the NBA and new the CBA. If Ibaka/Harden both want what hey are worth, then we will be entering the Luxury Tax, and will be taxed heavily by going over our salary cap. Not to mention Scott Brooks has yet to sign his contract also, which cost money. The only way I see Ibaka/Harden both staying if they play on reduced contracts. Time to wake up Oklahoma City, this is the NBA, players get traded all the time. I know we all love James Harden, but he might just have to go.

The reason this is so stupid is that you get rid of Ibaka and/or Perkins (amnesty) way before you get rid of Harden... Unless yOu don't care about winning. Wake up!

[wsucougz]

deleted for: clusterf*ck of a post

[CaptDave]

If you are watching the draft, this thread should die very quickly.....

[dankrutka]

And look what happened...

[MDot]

The Thunder drafted Perry Jones III from Baylor.

[soonerguru]

Wait, but we were told Harden would be traded! Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!

This is hilarity. I want G.Walker and the guy who started this thread, Monkeebrains, to bet against me on future events. Easy money.

I'm sorry, but i'm laughing rereading your posts.

[G.Walker]

Wait, but we were told Harden would be traded! Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!

This is hilarity. I want G.Walker and the guy who started this thread, Monkeebrains, to bet against me on future events. Easy money.

I'm sorry, but i'm laughing rereading your posts.

Harden can still be traded, this just goes to show how much you really know about the NBA, lol.

[G.Walker]

Most trades happen after draft night, everybody knows this. But my main argument was that they can't keep Harden/Ibaka...one of them will be traded before its all said and done.

[MDot]

A lot of analysts think if we can't re-sign Ibaka, then Jones III will be his replacement. Dude has some major potential if he can stay healthy.

[BrettM2]

Most trades happen after draft night, everybody knows this. But my main argument was that they can't keep Harden/Ibaka...one of them will be traded before its all said and done.

Why would we trade them before we can even negotiate with them? Why would we trade them when they are both under contract for another full year? Why would we trade them before the trade deadline in FEBRUARY if they indicate they don't want to stay/we can't afford them?

Most trades don't happen after draft night because free agency starts right after draft night. Most trades happen on 1) the trade deadline or the few days before or 2) draft night. Everybody knows this.

[miamifan6]

your crazy harden wants to get paid and so does ibaka. there not going to be able to keep both. its either one of the other. a max deal for harden is 50 million over 5 years a max deal for ibaka is is 40 million. if another team is going to offer a mega deal to one of those guys why would you stay for cheaper if one of them gets hurt they will never get that deal. you better take it while you can.

[Snowman]

... my main argument was that they can't keep Harden/Ibaka...one of them will be traded before its all said and done.

Why enjoy the moment when we can worry about the future.

[dankrutka]

Most trades happen after draft night, everybody knows this. But my main argument was that they can't keep Harden/Ibaka...one of them will be traded before its all said and done.

This is way smarter than the dumb things you said earlier in the thread. Nice backtracking...

[Bill Robertson]

Most trades happen after draft night, everybody knows this. But my main argument was that they can't keep Harden/Ibaka...one of them will be traded before its all said and done.

While it is a possibility it can't be said unequivocally that the Thunder can't keep both. That is unless you have access to the teams books, discussions between player/agent/team, etc.. As said before Westbrook left money on the table in order to try and keep both when the time came. Perk can be on amnesty after, I believe, next season. Making it all the way to the finals, which it looks like a good possibility for the near future, makes the team a chunk of money. With just a bit of compromise by Hardin and Ibaka it is very possible the Thunder can financially keep both.

[betts]

I think that it's impossible to predict what Presti will do --- ever. If you don't want to be wrong, it's best to avoid absolutes when making statements about what the Thunder will or won't do. It's fun to speculate, but that's all it is.

[Bellaboo]

Not.................

[dankrutka]

I think that it's impossible to predict what Presti will do --- ever. If you don't want to be wrong, it's best to avoid absolutes when making statements about what the Thunder will or won't do. It's fun to speculate, but that's all it is.

Well, we can make educated guesses based on knowledge of the Thunder organization. That is why I was confident that Harden was not being shopped for an unproven college palyer (Beal). Ibaka would be gone first. They will try to extend Harden first, and, hopefully, he'll "scarifice" a little for the organization. If we try to sign Ibaka it probably won't be until after next season when he's a restricted free agent. That's when I think Perkins will get amnestied to create room for others.

[BoulderSooner]

Well, we can make educated guesses based on knowledge of the Thunder organization. That is why I was confident that Harden was not being shopped for an unproven college palyer (Beal). Ibaka would be gone first. They will try to extend Harden first, and, hopefully, he'll "scarifice" a little for the organization. If we try to sign Ibaka it probably won't be until after next season when he's a restricted free agent. That's when I think Perkins will get amnestied to create room for others.

100% disagree with you .. based on the past knowledge of the thunder organization ..... Ibaka is the guy they keep first harden second ..

that being said i think they keep both

[dankrutka]

100% disagree with you .. based on the past knowledge of the thunder organization ..... Ibaka is the guy they keep first harden second ..

that being said i think they keep both

What knowledge of the Thunder organization?

Harden is already better than Ibaka will very likely ever be. Ibaka will always be a good help defender with limited offensive skills. He has terrible hands, is a below average one-on-one defensive player, and disappears offensively for games at a time. Like most athletic bigs, he's not turning into Hakeem Olajuwon like everyone dreams. Also, there are a ton of athletic bigs. They are not hard to find. Ibaka's shot blocking is phenomenal, but it is off set when he is getting scorched one-on-one consistenly (see Dallas series last year).

On the other hand, Harden is already the 3rd best shooting guard in the game (you could argue Eric Gordon is better, but I'll take Harden behind Kobe and Wade). His offensive improvement has been amazing! He had one of the highest PERs in the league last year as a shooting guard, which is incredible. He has a lot of room for improvement in his mid-range game among other areas (e.g., defense). He is already an all star player level player at a position with very limited talent. It's very hard to find great shooting guards. He took over game 4 of the Dallas series and game 5 of the Spurs series at an elite level that Ibaka could never do.

If you want to roll the dice on Ibaka's potential ability to someday improve to Harden's proven ability then I am glad you are not the Thunder's GM. Harden will cost more, and the Thunder organization will still make him the first priority over Ibaka. Ultimately, Harden gives the Thunder a far higher chance at a championship than Ibaka and that is why they'll keep Harden. I think Harden gets a contract this summer, and they'll see what's left for Ibaka next summer.

[Bellaboo]

100% disagree with you .. based on the past knowledge of the thunder organization ..... Ibaka is the guy they keep first harden second ..

that being said i think they keep both

I kind of thought this too, until I read on Dailythunder today that they are looking at Hasheem Thabeet. Along with PJ3, that's two new front court players added, if in fact it happens....that way if Ibaka walks, they're prepared.

[Bill Robertson]

I kind of thought this too, until I read on Dailythunder today that they are looking at Hasheem Thabeet. Along with PJ3, that's two new front court players added, if in fact it happens....that way if Ibaka walks, they're prepared.

The "source" that says OKC is looking at Thabeet is probably just about as accurate as the "source" that said OKC was going to trade Hardin for the #2 draft pick. Mark my words Thabeet is not coming to the Thunder.

[dankrutka]

The "source" that says OKC is looking at Thabeet is probably just about as accurate as the "source" that said OKC was going to trade Hardin for the #2 draft pick. Mark my words Thabeet is not coming to the Thunder.

Thabeet is in OKC right now. He's very low risk because the Thunder could likely get him on a very low contract. If it doesn't work out then not much was lost.

[Bellaboo]

The "source" that says OKC is looking at Thabeet is probably just about as accurate as the "source" that said OKC was going to trade Hardin for the #2 draft pick. Mark my words Thabeet is not coming to the Thunder.

Go check out Dailythunder.com, Royce is a fairly accurate source. I'm not saying Thabeet will make it, but maybe he's worth the risk as a project .

[Bill Robertson]

Go check out Dailythunder.com, Royce is a fairly accurate source. I'm not saying Thabeet will make it, but maybe he's worth the risk as a project .

I read Royce's stuff often. He's OK but a lot of what he writes is just for something to write. A team as good as the Thunder isn't going to invest what it would take to get a player like Thabeet for a "project".

[MDot]

I read Royce's stuff often. He's OK but a lot of what he writes is just for something to write. A team as good as the Thunder isn't going to invest what it would take to get a player like Thabeet for a "project".

He's also accurate with most of the stuff he reports, no matter what else he writes to keep his blog busy.

Sam Amick is the one who reported it, so I'd probably try and see how reliable he is first, which I think he's fairly reliable.