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Who 'won' the James Harden Trade?

  10:48 AM - October 29, 2012 by MMChrisS


Fear the Beard. Bye bye Beard!

The James Harden trade to Houston is in the books -- at a peculiar time for a blockbuster NBA trade for sure. But the analysis is going on and on for folks about which team made out like gangbusters and which team didn't. Did OKC set itself up for another championship run by replacing Harden? Did Houston make itself much better? Did both teams make smart deals for themselves?

Which is it OS? Sound off by voting on the poll to your right on the frontpage and above you in the forums and also leave a comment on your breakdown of the trade!

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Member Comments
# 1 PPerfect_CJ @ 10/29/12 10:55 AM
Actually, truth be known, I think the Lakers were the winners. OKC was their biggest threat in the West and Harden's departure helps them out big time.
 
# 2 marginwalker12 @ 10/29/12 11:20 AM
Both teams struck out in the trade as far present value. But at least the Thunder walk away with four draft picks, taking advantage of a desperate Morey who's been longing to obtain a star since Yao called it quits.
 
# 3 bghost @ 10/29/12 11:25 AM
I think Houston got the worst of this deal, it seems like alot to give up for a guy who wont play defense at all, his scoring will go up, but his efficiency will go way down.
 
# 4 gilly11 @ 10/29/12 11:38 AM
OKC won this trade pretty easily in my eyes. Harden made it clear he wouldn't sign unless he got a max deal. If the Thunder didn't want to give him that money I don't blame them, so they had to trade him. Kevin Martin can take Harden's place without much of a drop off, plus getting those draft picks will be a huge asset for an already championship caliber team.
 
# 5 eaterofworlds888 @ 10/29/12 12:06 PM
At first I was thinking the Rockets won but it's actually about a tie now that I think about it. I think James Harden is a lot better than Kevin Martin. However, you can never really count on draft picks and I think the Thunder gave a bit to much away.
 
# 6 poloelite @ 10/29/12 12:11 PM
OKC won this trade by a wide margin. If Maynor comes back healthy, OKC won't miss Harden's play making ability and Martin will the be the "microwave" sig skill off of their bench. Just a heads up trade of Martin for Harden would be about even depending on your team and playstyle, but when you add on Lamb and an almost certain lottery pick next year, not sure how anyone can think Houston came out on top in this deal. So now Houston is stuck with Lin, Harden and Asik and a 6th seed at best. They will be mediocre for a looooong time.
 
# 7 DJ @ 10/29/12 12:29 PM
Who knows? Let's see both teams settle into the season and then we can judge.
 
# 8 kackle85 @ 10/29/12 12:36 PM
It really depends on what you mean by won the trade. In the short term the Rockets won this trade without a doubt. Houston gets better this year while OKC takes a step back. In a few short years though the Thunder will have won this trade by a long and I mean LONG shot. Harden is an upgrade over Kevin Martin for sure, but not a big enough upgrade to warrant two first-round picks one of them an almost surefure lottery pick from Toronto and a 2013 second-rounder from Charlotte that might as well be a late first.
 
# 9 Bull_Market @ 10/29/12 12:51 PM
If I told you last year, OKC would get Jeremy Lamb & Perry Jones and managed to get two 1st's and a 2nd back and lost James Harden, Daquean Cook, Lazar Hayward, and Cole Aldrich, what would you say?


I hate knee jerk reactions to trades, "oh such and such won the trade", I know its "fun" but its illogical nature irritates me, we have no way of knowing who won at the present time. Will be fun to revisit 5 years from now though.
 
# 10 ddvette9 @ 10/29/12 01:38 PM
On a similar but side note, I am new to NBA 2k13 and want to start my franchise with the season tomorrow. When will Harden be added to the Rockets and all the other trade stuff so I can start my franchise with updated rosters?
 
# 11 Xxstr8xRecklessxX @ 10/29/12 02:04 PM
in my point of veiw............its too early cuz you gotta see how they perform but i believe thunders..........they got the best from rockets kevin martin at 6th man to replace james n jermey lamb (who i believe has potential to become a better player) to streghten the bench with Perry jones and company and they took 2 first round n second round draft picks of 2013? bascially rockets better avoid a losing season or they just messed up big.

correct me if im wrong though bout somthing i said haha
 
# 12 SpartanBaller @ 10/29/12 02:09 PM
I can't believe Harden left for an extra 3.5 million
 
# 13 Bionickle @ 10/29/12 03:27 PM
As an OKC fan I was really disappointed at Harden leaving, for the amount he did... But looking at this trade from Presti's side I think they got the better of it long term. Martin is a proven scorer who could be effective under Brooks run-n-gun style, Lamb is a nice prospect and the draft picks could work really well knowing OKC's front office's track record come the draft. I felt that OKC's chances of returning to the finals got a lot tougher with the Lakers' signings and it looks like Presti & Co. felt the same and decided to get something in return instead of letting James walk in free agency, since they've been clear they don't want to go over to bad over the salary cap anytime soon.
 
# 14 cyborg.ninja24 @ 10/29/12 04:52 PM
"The Thunder offered Harden $55.5 million over four years -- $4.5 million less than the max deal Harden coveted and will get from the Rockets, sources told ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard."

Really? I know $4.5 million is a lot of money but I think Harden wanted to be the main man and not be behind anyone's shadow----a la Joe Johnson when he signed with Hawks instead of the Suns. If he really wanted to stay, he would have stayed. Udonis Haslem took considerably less money to stay with the Heats.
 
# 15 Joobieo @ 10/29/12 05:00 PM
I think the Rockets just destroyed any type of future for themselves.
 
# 16 DubTrey1 @ 10/29/12 05:43 PM
I think Houston lost a bit more than we wanted to - in order to get a "name". I think OKC won in the longterm based on the prospect of Lamb's talent and the potential picks. The picks I dont care about because those are subjective the future draft - but Lamb is a great unknown. I feel mixed and agree we need to see how it plays out this season. If we can at least make one more move of some sort and sneak into the 8 seed - I would be fine. Martin plays no D either and is a consistent scorer in the first 3 qtrs of games - Harden caved a bit after the loss in the playoffs, but he got "wanted $" and we now have a higher profile name to go with Lin.... so let's wait and see is my approach. Not great - but not a franchise killer I hope.
 
# 17 eyeamg0dly @ 10/29/12 06:39 PM
to me it just shows how worthless nba draft picks really are. college kids dont have to learn to play defense and then they leave early on top of that. moronic nba teams draft these kids thinking they have potential but knowing they will most likely flop. so did okc make out with unproven players and garbage draft picks? most certainly not. maybe they can salvage this by trading back in the draft and grabbing some european big man that knows how to rebound and make free throws. i dont think the rockets made out either. to me harden is average at best and way over paid.
 
# 18 NINJAK2 @ 10/29/12 07:16 PM
Lakers and Miami won. Their roads to/thru finals became a little easier.
Harden's ability to handle the rock and score really opened up that offense in OKC. I don't know if K-Mart or Lamb can handle the rock with the same ability to set up others like Harden could. I think I would have taken Terrence Jones instead of Lamb to have another big body to throw at Lebron or Kobe on the defensive end.
 
# 19 stillfeelme @ 10/29/12 08:21 PM
Right now I say on paper OKC won. 2 first round picks for a WCF final team probably the top 2 in the west is a major plus. They have way more flexibility now to flip the picks and still have Lamb as well. It will take a few years to reap the benefits but if OKC gets one solid player out of those two picks they won. Harden would be lucky to get in the playoffs on that Houston roster.
 
# 20 Calipup @ 10/29/12 09:29 PM
I really like the Thunder side of the deal. Martin can fill in most of Harden's absence. 2 first rounders and a 2nd is great, team would have been good 4 years down the line anyways, but now they can be even better if the picks pan out. Same with Lamb, who knows if he will pan out as well. The 3 others the Thunder sent were "eh," nothing special about them, easily replaced.

If Lamb and the picks go pan out, then the Rockets will win, but you have to trade a player you know you won't be able to resign in the next off-season, especially with this kind of deal offered.
 

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