The Dynasty That Never Was - NbaInsomniac's Blog

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The Dynasty That Never Was

Posted on September 2, 2013 at 12:22 AM.

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Before I get into my latest breakdown, I'd like to take a moment to thank any and everyone who's taken the time to read my blog thus far. Our senses are constantly inundated with advertisements, "click on me" or "hit like if you hate cancer or you'll get it too", when we log on to Internet. I know sometimes all you want to do is sit on your computer scroll down your Facebook newsfeed and creep a couple of profiles then go to bed. That's why I'm so appreciative of the support you all have shown. No matter if you've read every word, two paragraphs or a one sentence. It shows me you care. However this dream turns out, knowing so many people are pulling for me gives me confidence to see this blogging thing through. I'd especially like to thank everyone in the great state of Oklahoma. You guys are awesome NBA fans and have shown an immense amount of love. Now that I've soften the blow.......

I despise the Thunder.

Respect the honesty.

In my introductory blog I always promised the truth from my point of view. Team affiliation be damned. Trust me, I've heard tons of flack about how I wasn't a "real" Knick fan because I don't worship at the altar of Carmelo Anthony. Please don't allow my hatred, of the sports variety (relax Ma), towards the Thunder to cause you to stop reading, because I will always be truthful and unbiased. Unless its the Red Sox, but I don't write about baseball.

I can admit that as a basketball community we were robbed when the Thunder traded James Harden.

Don't get me wrong, the ***** in me loved seeing OKC's GM Sam Presti flush away a DYNASTY last October. The NBA lover in me wept uncontrollably. The ***** in me rejoiced as a billionaire owner chose making money over making history. The NBA lover shook his head in disbelief as one of the greatest teams that never was, disbanded.

Some of you might be thinking. Whoa Daniel, slow down on the hyperbole. And if you are thinking that, I'd assume you are a Thunder fan who started watching basketball about 5 years ago and have little to no idea about the history of the league. (This is why I despise the Thunder. I love Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook secretly, but their fans are the worse. Either they have ZERO clue about basketball, or they all used to be Laker fans. Or Bulls fans. Or any team that's been pretty good over the last 10-15 years. Then the basketball gods, who obviously hate the Knicks and their long suffering fan base, blesses them with 15 years of KD and Russ. All of what you just read will be in the spiel I give my daughter when it's time for the "life isn't fair" speech).

The Harden trade is THE WORST TRADE OF ALL TIME. How's that for hyperbole?

Let me count the ways.

Number 1. You don't trade All Star Shooting Guards. They're a scarce commodity.

I'm surprised the national media and us know it all bloggers didn't play up this angle. The lack of elite shooting guards through out the NBA and its history is glaring. Quickly, name me ten great centers of all time. No particular order. And it doesn't have to be the best ten ever, just pick ten legendary players who roamed the middle. Easy? I know. Ok, do the same for point guards, small forwards and power forwards. Not as easy, but, we got there. Now, name me ten great shooting guards. A little harder huh? I bet some of you struggled naming players after Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. That's not a reflection of your lack of basketball knowledge (sort of). Maybe you have better things going on in your life. Waking up at 4AM combing through Zach Lowe's "Point Forward" archives and googling "What ever happened to Mohammad Abdul Rauf" I understand isn't something normal people do. Just know the shooting guard position isn't as deep historically. Heck there are "HoopHeads" who couldn't rattle of the greatest shooting guards ever without needing a moment to gather his (or her) thoughts.

Here are my top 10 SGs ever:

1. Jordan

2. Kobe

3. Dwayne Wade

4. Allen Iverson

5. Jerry West

6. Ray Allen

7. Clyde Drexler

8. Joe Dumars

9. David Thompson

10. Manu Ginobolli

Most of those names pass the Mom Test (credit Bill Simmons). Though I'd say only the top 5 of those players are among the all-time NBA hierarchy. The rest, while gifted all star players who made an impact in the league aren't getting a 95+ rating in 2K14.

Also, six of my top ten players are Michael Jordan disciples, or actually 23 himself. That's because once Jordan started obliterating the NBA in ways previously unseen, the best high school kids under 6'9 wanted to play on the perimeter, off the ball and score. This lead to an uprising in the level of talent at the 2 guard. Honestly it's the most fun position on the floor, you aren't responsible for rebounding or running the offense. And If you're good enough there's a green light to chuck shots at will. Since there aren't a ton of scorers at the SG you don't have to worry much about defense. I doubt Thabo Sefalosha keeps coaching staffs up late at night game planning for the corner 3 he never makes when it counts. (I didn't want to use Thabo as an example here. I felt I was taking too many shots at OKC. I tried to use another shooting guards instead. He just fit the best. Really. I swear Thunder fan, please don't stop reading. I love you guys. Thunder Up?)

The point is, elite, all world shooting guards are rare. You don't trade them. Period. And Harden is the best two guard in the NBA right now.

(Note to older NBA lovers who looked at my list, "Hmphed" and made a snarky comment regarding today's youth and their disrespect of the older player. Do you believe Bill Sharman, Sam Jones or Hal Greer could succeed in today's NBA? They couldn't check (that means defend) the barely athletic stiffs that manned the off guard position in their own day. Give me one reason as to why Iverson wouldn't drop 60 on them. EVERY GAME. At best they'd be a sixth man on the Sacramento Kings. Definitely not franchise building blocks. You can disagree, but this is my list.)

Number 2. "Financially we couldn't afford it"

I love when billionaires play the finance card yet ask everyday people to pay out the *** for tickets to regular season games against marquee teams like the Toronto Raptors and Charlotte Bobcats. So pardon me if I chose not to shed tears for Clay Bennett and his "financial difficulties". But what's funny about using the "money was the reason we had to trade Harden" excuse, is it doesn't make any sense at all.

Exhibit A:

Kendrick Perkins, Jeremy Lamb, Thabo Sefalosha and Steven Adams' combined 2013 salary:

16.9 million

James Harden's 2013 salary:

13.7 million

I shouldn't have to use 200 words to explain how absurd it is to spend 3.2 million more for two role players, a prospect who played in the D League all season and the 12th overall pick in what might have been the worst draft since Kenyon Martin went number one in the 2000. I should stop writing now. Those numbers say enough. Take a second and soak in the stupidity.........

Now ask yourself, would you rather have Group A or Player B? Four slices of Wonder bread? or a ribeye from Ruth's Criss steakhouse? What if those pieces of bread cost the more than the steak? Imagine at dinner someone orders half a loaf, two glasses of water and splits a $100 dollar check with you and then offers to leave the tip. Yeah. That's how the rest of the NBA looks at the Thunder front office.

Writer's disclaimer:

It's about to get SUPER nerdy. If talking about contracts and the collective bargaining agreement makes you nod off in boredom like a lush at 6am by the bus stop near 125th and Lexington on a Saturday morning, I suggest you skip the next few paragraphs.

Here's another hole in the money theory:

The Thunder offered him 4 years and 54 million dollars. Reportedly. He wanted 58 million. Reportedly. They were a million dollars a year apart. Reportedly. They gave him an hour to decide on their offer. Reportedly. (That last "Reportedly" was unnecessary, I know. I was feeling it though. Heat check.)

Buuuuuuut......they had enough money to pay 14.5 million to Kevin Martin and Jeremy Lamb last season, the quartet of PLSA 16.9 million this season yet somehow couldn't find an extra million per year to give Harden the contract he was seeking? Add those salaries together for those six players, who COMBINED aren't near as good as Harden, and you get 31.4 million over the last two seasons. Harden would have made 29 million over the same time span. That's a 2 million dollar difference. Or one million per season. The one million they wouldn't give him. What the.....?

(I came up with 29 million for Harden, 14.5 million each season, assuming he and the Thunder agreed on the 58 million 4 year deal he was (reportedly) seeking and worked the contract to allow the money to be spread out evenly per season instead of the escalating yearly salary of most NBA contracts. The Thunder had set a precedent for that kind of deal when they inked Serge Ibaka to a 49 million dollar deal over four years giving him an even 12.35 million per season a week prior to trading Harden so I don't feel this is a presumptuous assumption.)

Now the smart fan is thinking, those numbers aren't legit because you're not factoring Daequan Cook and Cole Aldrich's money (players who were packaged along with Harden to Houston). Their salaries together would have added another 5.2 million to the Thunder's payroll. Meaning not making the trade, keeping those players and giving Harden his 14.5 mil per season extension, would have actually cost OKC 19.7 million. I have answer, of course for you "smart fan".Working under the premise that to keep Harden you'd have to trade both of those players. Easily manageable. Dumping 5.2 million dollars in salary in the NBA can be done simply by adding a first round pick somewhere down the road. The Jazz are paying 24 million dollars this year for two warms bodies and Brandon Rush so they could acquire two potentially extremly medicore first round picks from a pretty good Golden State team. One in 2014, the other 2017. Those picks figure to fall somewhere between 20-25 in those perspective drafts. That's not exactly a spot in the draft where superstars, hell, ROTATION players are found. But the the league is pick crazy right now. So why wouldn't Utah, or another team, be willing to pay 19 million LESS for the same kind of salary dump deal for draft picks 7-10 spots later? Suppose you believe giving up Cook, Aldrich and two late first rounders are too much to keep James Harden, please do us all a favor and stop watching basketball.

To me here's where things get even more ridiculous in regards to "we couldn't afford it". The Thunder didn't have to pay Harden until this offseason. In the last year of his deal he was making "only" 5.8 million. If OKC puts the extension off a year, dumps Cook and Aldrich's 5.2 million, they'd save 9.3 MILLION in 2012. Harden's extension then kicks in 2013 at 12.9 million (in this scenario Harden definitely receives a max contract at 4 years 60 million because he tested free agency, giving him an escalating yearly salary instead of the money being evenly spread out over four years as previously stated.) It is still less than the 16.9 million they are paying PSLA this season. Saving the Thunder another 4 million this season for a grand total of 13.3 million over two years.13.3 million is enough to help pay any luxury tax penalties they'd incur later on. A little financial maneuvering and viola. How the hell did OKC not see this?

Smart fan is again is thinking. This time they're worried about him testing free agency, signing with another team and getting nothing in return for him. Relax imaginary smart fans, The Thunder had first of right refusal. They could match any offer he received in restricted free agency forcing him back to OKC. Say he pulled an Eric Gordon and tried crying his way out of town (highly unlikely) OKC still could have signed and traded him. Yes, they'd be bargaining a trade from a less favorable position, but the haul couldn't be worse then what they got back from Houston.

The Thunder also floated out a story how they didn't want any distractions caused by the uncertainty of Harden's unresolved contract situation. That theory to me is ludicrous. Harden hadn't gotten his big payday yet. Tell me a player who sabotaged a team BEFORE getting paid? A championship one team to boot. Harden had zero leverage, either play nice and ball or jeopardize millions on his next contract.

I'm sorry, the "Money was a reason we had to trade Harden excuse" has too many holes. It doesn't hold up under close scrutiny.

Number 3. Kendrick Perkins is a big part of the what Thunder do, so they won't amnesty him.........Why?!

I'll give Thunder fans this, they've caught on that Kendrick Perkins as a basketball player is god awful. I mean possibly worst player in the league who plays 20 minutes or more awful. There was a time on defensive when he was serviceable, but he hasn't played in Boston for 3 years now. Watch the Memphis series as Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol washed rinsed and dried his *** for five games. Scott Brooks finally threw in the towel and started playing Nick Collison down the stretch of games late in the series. Offensively, he's horrific. Besides setting screens he contributes nothing. He might as well never cross half court.

The Perkins problem becomes compounded when you realize they traded Jeff Green to acquire him. Granted no one, including me, was screaming bloody murder at time. Hindsight is 20/20, so let yourself imagine this Thunder lineup:

PG Westbrook

SG Harden

SF Durant

PF Green

C Ibaka

6th Man Collison

Or.....

PG Westbrook

SG Harden

SF Green

PF Ibaka

C Collison

6th Man Durant (Just kidding switch Green and KD)

LeBron or not, I'm taking either one of those lineups against Miami. You would too.

Kendrick Perkins isn't only a horrible basketball player he's helped killed the greatest team that never was. Damn you Kendrick. Damn you.

I often too stare out into the distance and wonder why you're still here.

4. The Curse of The Seattle SuperSonics.

I won't touch this because I've sure pissed off some family and friends by now. But this a theory that can't totally be dismissed.

OK. For some reason you don't buy any of the points I made prior. Fine, I have one more round in my chamber. It's not an ideal scenario, but firing off your last shot never is. That's why with steady precision I aim.

5. James vs. Serge.

Once again, I'm NOT condoning this, I'm just making a point. Opening all doors, putting the cards on the table or whatever cliche fits best. Put me in charge of the Thunder there's no way I'm trading either one. Though faced with difficult choices under the guise "We can't afford Harden" I'm keeping James over Serge. Every. Single. Time.

Harden has grown to be the best player at his position in the league. He's proved to be capable of leading a pretty mediocre supporting cast to the playoffs in a highly competitive Western Conference. (Who had more talent last season LA or Hou?) A case can be made Houston had the least amount of talent of any team in the playoffs, in either conference. Serge seems to have peaked offensively, is a bit overrated defensively (great weak side shot blocking, average low post defense and at times can be a step slow in his rotations) and was exposed as nothing more than a 3rd/4th-ish scoring option in last year playoffs. We'd all admit Ibaka isn't a franchise cornerstone. Not even imaginary smart fan disagrees. It's pretty clear investing max money in Harden was the better bet. The question to be asked is whether a power forward who four years into his career hasn't averaged 8 boards a game yet is worth 12 million a season. The answer is the Thunder gambled on the wrong player.

(By the way, this isn't me looking back and saying I told you so with the advantage of knowing how it would all turn out, 90% of GMs in the league agreed Harden was worth a max contract. It was understood he accepted a lesser role on the team in the pursuit of championships. Don't believe me? Google it. I'm not going to do all the work for you.)

So....yeah. The trade was disaster, the logic given faulty and though OKC may win a title eventually, they had a ceiling high enough with KD, Russ and Harden that they could have been mentioned in the same breath as Magic's Lakers, Bird's Celtics and Jordan's Bulls. Due to Clay Bennett's unwillingness to commit financially to a winner and Sam Presti's panic move. OKC may go the way of Kemp's Sonics, Malone's Jazz and Ewing's Knicks. The NBA lover is me sheds one last tear, while the ***** in me, well he's still hating.