James Harden Traded To Rockets. REACTION!!! (merged)

[staticcc]

The Rockets will send Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb and future pick considerations (first round picks from Mavericks and Raptors in 2013, and a second round pick from the Bobcats) for Harden, Cole Aldrich, Lazar Hayward and Daequan Cook.

Read more: http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/224190/Sources_James_Harden_Traded_To_Rockets#ixzz2AYkXMd1A

Adrian Wojnarowski ‏@WojYahooNBA

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

Adrian Wojnarowski ‏@WojYahooNBA

Houston also sends a 2013 second-round pick (via Charlotte) to Thunder.

Getting better for OKC.

Martin as a half-year rental. Huge expiring contract. OKC could parlay him and picks into Al Jefferson, perhaps, at the deadline?

I think 6 months have to pass before you can trade a player you just acquired? That date will be past the deadline; they're stuck with Martin.

[Lucky17]

The Rockets will send Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb and future pick considerations (first round picks from Mavericks and Raptors in 2013, and a second round pick from the Bobcats) for Harden, Cole Aldrich, Lazar Hayward and Daequan Cook.

Read more: http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/224190/Sources_James_Harden_Traded_To_Rockets#ixzz2AYkXMd1A

Adrian Wojnarowski ‏@WojYahooNBA

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

Adrian Wojnarowski ‏@WojYahooNBA

Houston also sends a 2013 second-round pick (via Charlotte) to Thunder.

Getting better for OKC.

Martin as a half-year rental. Huge expiring contract. OKC could parlay him and picks into Al Jefferson, perhaps, at the deadline?

I think 6 months have to pass before you can trade a player you just acquired? That date will be past the deadline; they're stuck with Martin.

No, OKC could trade Martin tonight, as long as they don't need to include another player in the deal.

[Who]

I think the Raptors 2013 first rounder could be really valuable. Probably end up in that 6-11 range. No idea what next year's draft class is like but that is a pretty valuable range in the draft to be. Good chance to land an above average starter or take a high risk/reward guy with All-Star potential.

The Mavs 2013 first rounder should be somewhere in the mid to late teens. If Dirk gets another injury (not inconceivable), I could see Dallas finishing outside of the playoffs.

That 2013 2nd rounder from Charlotte should be right at the start of the second round. Comparable value to a late first rounder. Good chance to add a rotation caliber player at that juncture in the draft.

I don't know enough about Jeremy Lamb. Reports on him seem very mixed. Looks to be a rotation caliber talent anyways. Possibility of being an above average starter down the road.

Kevin Martin should be their starting two guard with Thabo Sefolosha moving to the bench. Martin isn't really a creator (one-on-one player or playmaker) so I don't think he can lead a 2nd unit's offense the way Harden did. I am thinking it's better to keep Kevin Martin alongside superior offensive threats and find opportunities within the flow of the offense. Ibaka and Perk are both low usage guys so the starting lineup should be able to function well enough offensively.

Two prolific scoring wings who can get you 50ppg on a TS% north of 60% is quite a weapon. Russell Westbrook on top of that (another 20-25ppg). Impressive firepower. I wouldn't consider Westbrook to be the type of player Kevin Martin plays well with but Durant makes it work so maybe Martin can too ... 

[Who]

PG: Russell Westbrook, Eric Maynor, Reggie Jackson
SG: Kevin Martin, Thabo Sefolosha, Jeremy Lamb
SF: Kevin Durant, (Thabo Sefolosha), Perry Jones III
PF: Serge Ibaka, (Kevin Durant), (Perry Jones III), (Nick Collison)
C:  Kendrick Perkins, Nick Collison, Hasheem Thabeet

I think Perk is going to really neeed to raise his game as a defender/rebounder next season. If he does that, Oklahoma looks mighty tough to beat.

I think they need to shift Collison back to the center position. They need his quickness and mobility as a defender behind a plodder like Perk. Plus, need more big man (PF/C) shooting on the floor. To bring in a capable jump-shooter at PF behind Ibaka to give better floor spacing.

[Galeto]

Cole Aldrich could be a difference maker as well. Looked lost as a rookie, little better last season, but Houston will give him the Royal Jelly he needs to have a shot at being a ball player.

And they still have pieces enough to make a move for another starting caliber big.

I was a pretty big fan of Aldrich coming out.  I thought he was a lock to be a valuable defensive center like a white Perkins. He looks like a bust to me now.  Any improvement he showed was slight last year, really, his stats were nearly unchanged across the board and he only played a third of the games.  To my eye, he still incomprehensibly looked like a very raw player despite playing major minutes for a big time college.

A guy with his rebounding and shotblocking numbers from a big conference usually tranlates his college production to the pros but Aldrich has looked too slow to make a difference.  I don't royal jelly applies here.

[fitzhickey]

Lol found out on nba memes Facebook page

[Fafnir]

PG: Russell Westbrook, Eric Maynor, Reggie Jackson
SG: Kevin Martin, Thabo Sefolosha, Jeremy Lamb
SF: Kevin Durant, (Thabo Sefolosha), Perry Jones III
PF: Serge Ibaka, (Kevin Durant), (Perry Jones III), (Nick Collison)
C:  Kendrick Perkins, Nick Collison, Hasheem Thabeet

I think Perk is going to really neeed to raise his game as a defender/rebounder next season. If he does that, Oklahoma looks mighty tough to beat.

I think they need to shift Collison back to the center position. They need his quickness and mobility as a defender behind a plodder like Perk. Plus, need more big man (PF/C) shooting on the floor. To bring in a capable jump-shooter at PF behind Ibaka to give better floor spacing.

Yeah if Perkins recovers his form they should be back in the Finals.

[Lucky17]

PG: Russell Westbrook, Eric Maynor, Reggie Jackson
SG: Kevin Martin, Thabo Sefolosha, Jeremy Lamb
SF: Kevin Durant, (Thabo Sefolosha), Perry Jones III
PF: Serge Ibaka, (Kevin Durant), (Perry Jones III), (Nick Collison)
C:  Kendrick Perkins, Nick Collison, Hasheem Thabeet

I think Perk is going to really neeed to raise his game as a defender/rebounder next season. If he does that, Oklahoma looks mighty tough to beat.

I think they need to shift Collison back to the center position. They need his quickness and mobility as a defender behind a plodder like Perk. Plus, need more big man (PF/C) shooting on the floor. To bring in a capable jump-shooter at PF behind Ibaka to give better floor spacing.

Is Ibaka capable of playing C? If so, would trading Martin for a quality floor-spacing PF be a better look for that starting five?

Not sure if such a PF would be obtainable, which renders this discussion pointless, I suppose.

[colincb]

Mavs pick will be lottery too and Bobcats' 2nd will be better than a late 1st rounder.  OKC didn't want to pay Harden's number and didn't want it hanging over the team.  Martin's a big enough number to entice a good mid-season trade (or a good enough player in a contract year to keep all year).  Harden sucked in the playoff limelight last year.

Smart move.

[LooseCannon]

I think 6 months have to pass before you can trade a player you just acquired? That date will be past the deadline; they're stuck with Martin.

If a team is over the cap, they have to wait two months before they can aggregate a player's salary in a trade (such as trading $5m and $6m contracts for a player making $10m who can't be traded for either of those players individually).  They can still ship him out by himself before that two-month requirement.  This includes a deal involving multiple players which can be split up into multiple trades for salary cap purposes.

[GreenFaith1819]

Wow.

I think the Lakers just became the Top seed in the west, now.

OKC just lost the 6th man of the year in Harden, a fine all-around player. I guess Presti had to do it, but I really believe OKC just took a step back.

[fairweatherfan]

Seems like a win-win - OKC wasn't willing to pay Harden so they got back an expiring deal (and K-Mart could start for them), couple of prospects, and two 1sts.  Houston finally gets to make that all-in move they've been shooting for all year.

This hurts OKC's title chances this year, I do like it better for them long-term - big expiring deal and more cheap rookie deals to fill out their rotation going forward. 

Plus, I'm not quite as big on Harden as a lot of people.  Not sure if he's got the chops to be a #1 guy and lead a team to significant wins.  Seems like a better #2/3 option, both in terms of his game and his mentality.

[Prof. Clutch]

Wow! 

[indeedproceed]

Cole Aldrich could be a difference maker as well. Looked lost as a rookie, little better last season, but Houston will give him the Royal Jelly he needs to have a shot at being a ball player.

And they still have pieces enough to make a move for another starting caliber big.

I was a pretty big fan of Aldrich coming out.  I thought he was a lock to be a valuable defensive center like a white Perkins. He looks like a bust to me now.  Any improvement he showed was slight last year, really, his stats were nearly unchanged across the board and he only played a third of the games.  To my eye, he still incomprehensibly looked like a very raw player despite playing major minutes for a big time college.

A guy with his rebounding and shotblocking numbers from a big conference usually tranlates his college production to the pros but Aldrich has looked too slow to make a difference.  I don't royal jelly applies here.

I agree with pretty much all of this, except for the bust part. It is the most likely outcome, but not one Id like to assign yet. He should get plenty of minutes, and by the end of the year the picture should be pretty clear. Big men typically take longer, and need to be allowed to make mistakes. He didn't have that luxury last season, and with Collison, Ibaka, and Perkins rocking the majority of the minutes, and with the high stakes they played, it just wasn't an option.

But, maybe he didn't play because he can't.

[Who]

PG: Russell Westbrook, Eric Maynor, Reggie Jackson
SG: Kevin Martin, Thabo Sefolosha, Jeremy Lamb
SF: Kevin Durant, (Thabo Sefolosha), Perry Jones III
PF: Serge Ibaka, (Kevin Durant), (Perry Jones III), (Nick Collison)
C:  Kendrick Perkins, Nick Collison, Hasheem Thabeet

I think Perk is going to really neeed to raise his game as a defender/rebounder next season. If he does that, Oklahoma looks mighty tough to beat.

I think they need to shift Collison back to the center position. They need his quickness and mobility as a defender behind a plodder like Perk. Plus, need more big man (PF/C) shooting on the floor. To bring in a capable jump-shooter at PF behind Ibaka to give better floor spacing.

Is Ibaka capable of playing C? If so, would trading Martin for a quality floor-spacing PF be a better look for that starting five?

Not sure if such a PF would be obtainable, which renders this discussion pointless, I suppose.

I don't think Ibaka is a center. At least not now. Maybe down the road but not now.

I think he plays best alongside a physical post presence defensively. Someone who can free Ibaka up to roam on defense and who can handle the bigger bodies defensively. Ibaka is too much of a lightweight. Doesn't fare well against physical (big bodied) interior players. Needs to get better at defending guys who have a size advantage on him.

I also do not believe Ibaka gains anything offensively from the switch to center. Too limited a shot-creator (lacks skill-level to punish slower bigs). So a substantial downgrade as a defender/rebounder and no offensive upgrade by switching Ibaka to the five.

-----------------------------------

Plus, with Dwight Howard in the West and on the Lakers ...

I think Oklahoma will want to keep a tough post defender around to deal with him. Either that or bring in somebody more threatening offensively than can make Dwight work more defensively. Until Ibaka shows more as a defender or offensive threat, I don't think he is ready to take over that matchup.