It sent shock waves across the sports world Saturday night. It dominated over the World Series and college football. Believe it or not, James Harden is now a Houston Rocket. This trade breaks up one of the best young trios the league has seen. With three Olympians all 24 or younger, the Thunder have made the decision to part ways with the best sixth man and third best shooting guard in the NBA.
Here's the deal: The Rockets get Harden, Cole Aldrich, Daequan Cook, and Lazar Hayward. The Thunder receive Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb, two first-round picks and a second-rounder. It's hard to say who wins in this deal, especially with no games played yet. But for the short-term, this hurts OKC. Harden, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook loved playing together and had just tasted the Finals. Admittedly, Harden had a bad Finals, but these three were the core of one of the best and most exciting teams in the league. Here are reasons why this trade works for the Thunder, Rockets and Harden.
Kevin Martin and Jeremy Lamb are both nice shooting guards, but very different. Everyone knows what Martin will give the Thunder. He is a one-dimensional scorer who has never played on a contender. He will likely be the sixth man. Martin can succeed in this role because he is an aggressive shot taker who will be more than comfortable as the go-to scorer for OKC when Durant and Westbrook are on the bench. Lamb is an athletic guard who was the 12th pick in this year's draft. He was the best player on a very young Connecticut team. He can play well with stars as we saw when he was Kemba Walker's sidekick in 2011. He will learn from Durant and will be able to do more than Cook ever did. Lamb has a bright future and was a top 10 player in this year's draft. The two first round pick are uncertain right now. The Thunder may trade those, but one is lottery protected, which means the pick will stay in the top 14.
The Rockets can hang their hat on this no matter what: They got the best player in the deal. Harden will average at least 20 points and will be an All-Star in an expanded role. Houston's intentions are clear. They will sign Harden to a max deal and they think they can compete with him as their best player. Things will be more difficult though after overpaying both Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik, but still they have cap room. Harden joins the Rockets on the brink of his prime, and Houston hopes that he lives up to all the expectations.
Harden will get a max deal in Houston. The $80 million for 5 years is much better than the $55 million for 4 years he would have gotten in OKC. Like his college days at Arizona State, he will clearly be the best player on his team. For Harden, this will be a tough adjustment. There will be no Durant or Westbrook to give the ball to. This year in Houston will show what Harden can play like with a team on his back.
OKC could have played the season out and then figured out the Harden situation, but an aggressive move by GM Sam Presti sent Harden away seemingly out of nowhere. Presti figured that he could get more for Harden the sooner he acted. However you break this deal down, the end result is shock on the eve of the NBA season. The exciting trio of Durant/Westbrook/Harden is now nothing more than a memory.
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