DustinT's Blog
Three best friends. Check.
Solid young core. Check.
Best player outside LeBron. Check.
Sixth Man of the Year. Gone.
Wait, what?
With the trade that sent James Harden and a flurry of pointless bench warmers to the Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City may have just found their flaw in the system every NBA team gushes over. A small-market team can't go all-in.
It isn't the fact that you traded Harden away, it's the timing of the move that has baffled me and countless others. Three nights before opening tip, and OKC decides to ship out 25 percent of its main core.
Here are a few reasons as to why Oklahoma City just robbed themselves.
They Just Lost a Best Friend
Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Harden were the three best friends that anyone could have. They enjoyed playing with each other on the court, and would constantly hang out and hit up the XBOX off the court. That kind of chemistry, especially in any professional sports league, is almost unheard of.
Yes, the Thunder received an impressive haul with Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb and three very good draft picks. Now, if those draft picks pan out, they could be even better in two years, right? Lamb can easily become a more athletic Harden, right? Martin will easily be able to fill Harden's shows on the court, right?
Wrong. Oklahoma City has already been down the path of potential, and it turned into four very young and very good basketball players. They just got rid of the fourth one to save some dough.
Offense or Defense: Something's Gotta Give
Martin can score, we know that much. But what else can he do? He can't penetrate like Harden, he can't defend like Harden and he doesn't have a Beard Like Harden. Also, Martin had Kyle Lowry tossing him the rock last year. And no knock on Westbrook, but just because he is the better player does not mean Lowry isn't the better point guard. Harden was at his best with Westbrook on the bench.
And leave Lamb out of this. I've already discussed how pointless it is to trade away an Olympian for potential in the Thunder's current position.
But what about Thabo Sefolosha? He's a damn good perimeter defender! But can he score? We all know that Sefolosha isn't the biggest offensive weapon on the Thunder, but in no way will his defensive presence help on offense minus the occasional corner 3-pointer.
The Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat
Remember when there were three NBA title contenders to start the season? I do, because it was yesterday morning. Now LeBron and Kobe are breathing a sigh of relief. Their top competition just screwed around with their chemistry days before tip off.
When LeBron goes cold, Wade steps up. When Wade goes cold, Bosh steps up.
When Kobe goes cold, Howard will step up. When Howard goes cold, Pau will step up. When Pau goes cold, Nash will step up.
Who's going to step up when Durant and Westbrook go cold? Martin is now the third-best scorer on the team. Good luck with that.
I see the reasons as to why Sam Presti pulled the trigger on this deal, but I still don't understand why he wouldn't have waited a little bit longer. Operation Sports Senior Staff Writer TD St. Matthew-Daniel made a good point on Twitter about why they may have pulled the trigger.
But for now, we can argue and we can debate. One thing is for certain, though: Oklahoma City just took a step back from winning the 2013 NBA Championship.
Dustin Toms is OS' Senior Editor. For insight on professional sports and sports gaming news, follow him on Twitter at @DustinToms_OS.
# 1
AC @ Oct 29
Ehh, I like the trade. Martin's a good scorer, and the draft picks could potentially be used to acquire a different player.
# 3
burnshroom @ Oct 29
For an "editorial" it sure sounds like sour grapes.
The Thunder were not likely gonna win it all this year, and may not have even come out of the west. They are still young with Durant and Westbrook... but now they have a 20 year old Lamb and more depth coming in the lottery with at least ONE of the THREE picks they got.
This deal was made for the LONG haul, and the writing was on the wall they they would have to either give up Harden or another core piece (Perkins) at some point to keep Harden. This was their best chance to get as much in return. Had they waited until the offseason the likely return would not have been as much.
Dear Dustin... get over it and yourself. Thanks.
The Thunder were not likely gonna win it all this year, and may not have even come out of the west. They are still young with Durant and Westbrook... but now they have a 20 year old Lamb and more depth coming in the lottery with at least ONE of the THREE picks they got.
This deal was made for the LONG haul, and the writing was on the wall they they would have to either give up Harden or another core piece (Perkins) at some point to keep Harden. This was their best chance to get as much in return. Had they waited until the offseason the likely return would not have been as much.
Dear Dustin... get over it and yourself. Thanks.
# 5
Fabric @ Oct 29
I completely disagree and think Sam Presti definitely made the right move. You just don't want a Dwight Howardesque situation with Harden, where he potentially pouts on and off the court, and the media constantly focus in on the contract situation! Yes, maybe Presti should have timed it a bit differently chemistry-wise, but honestly Durant is a professional through and through and wont be affected by this. Westbrook is another story - who knows where his head is at 90% of the time - but considering that OKC's Big 3 just became the Tremendous 2 I don't think he'll have that big a problem with it! These points plus you get a proven veteran with an ending contract in Martin who can step in as the third scorer behind KD and Westbrook right away (and will most likely be willing to take a pay cut to return next season), a young player with tremendous upside in Lamb and three draft picks which can either be used in a another trade or could turn into three useful players come draft time (and we've all seen how well OKC has drafted earlier!). IMO the only ones who got robbed here were the Rockets - unless of course Harden signs a contract extension right away...
# 9
Gramps91 @ Oct 29
I agree man, not the worst trade ever, but bad move one the Thunders part. They basically traded away the best sixth man in basketball for Kevin Martin and a bunch of other players that really won't matter in the end.
# 10
dorian813 @ Oct 29
The Thunder won with this trade. They got Martin who can come off the bench and score. They got Lamd plus two more first round picks. How could you pass this deal up. They got rid of some bench players. Harden got exposed by the Heat in the finals anyway so if he didn't retool his game expect the same in his next playoff round.
# 11
Rewmac @ Oct 29
Very very bad move. It drops their chemistry big time. Everyone is saying that the draft picks can turn out to be good like it can't be the oposite. It's a huge gamble. Martin as a lot of people have said is one dimensional and needs a good point guard to set him up and can't attack the basket like Harden. Westbrook isn't the point guard to set people up, they should sign a Free Agent like Gilbert Arenas he is old enough to know setups, young enough to score, good enough to backup the offense.
# 12
ManiacMatt1782 @ Oct 29
Rewmac, You can't claim this hurts chemistry then suggest they sign a chemistry killer like Gilbert Arenas.
# 13
Wasabi808 @ Oct 29
Fully disagree with your write up. Harden, in my opinion, is not worth a max deal. I just don't see him in that way, as good as he is. Couple that with already signing 3 other players to long term, big money contracts, and the Thunder would have dug themselves a huge hole. This move now leaves them some flexibility, which is extremely valuable, especially being in the market they are in.
One of the biggest reasons to make the move now is because the longer you wait, the less leverage you have. You also give your team even less time to "gel" by waiting until mid-season to pull the trigger on this deal. The Thunder did extremely well in this deal, at this moment, especially considering one of the first rounders is a potential lottery pick from the Toronto Raptors.
I agree that yes, we can argue and debate about this, but you saying "One thing is for certain, though: Oklahoma City just took a step back from winning the 2013 NBA Championship.", that is one of the most UN-certain things you mentioned in your write up. That is very debatable and very arguable, that cannot be said with any amount of certainty at this time.
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One of the biggest reasons to make the move now is because the longer you wait, the less leverage you have. You also give your team even less time to "gel" by waiting until mid-season to pull the trigger on this deal. The Thunder did extremely well in this deal, at this moment, especially considering one of the first rounders is a potential lottery pick from the Toronto Raptors.
I agree that yes, we can argue and debate about this, but you saying "One thing is for certain, though: Oklahoma City just took a step back from winning the 2013 NBA Championship.", that is one of the most UN-certain things you mentioned in your write up. That is very debatable and very arguable, that cannot be said with any amount of certainty at this time.
# 14
scottyo60 @ Oct 29
All I gotta say is Sam Presti see Manu Ginobli and the Spurs background. He knows what he's doing
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