James Harden traded to Houston, per Woj

I think the Thunder won this deal lol

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Originally Posted by Pantazis76

He will .. if he plays

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He will.

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Originally Posted by Pantazis76

Im actually surprised that hornets didnt try trade Gordon for Harden..

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That makes no sense. They traded Harden because they couldn't afford him. Why would they want Gordon and his contract?

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Originally Posted by Pantazis76

Im actually surprised that hornets didnt try trade Gordon for Harden..

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They would have been placed in the same exact predicament they just faced with Harden's contract. Makes no sense.....

I think people have some unreasonable expectations on what you can get for even the best of players these days. OKC made a good deal.

Gordon hasn't proven he's carried the load in a meaningful way. He put up big numbers on a bad team and last season played in only 9 games.

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Originally Posted by Hornets78

Gordon hasn't proven he's carried the load in a meaningful way. He put up big numbers on a bad team and last season played in only 9 games.

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Neither has Harden for that matter, and he's played in more games.

OKC won this deal hands down. Look at what they gained and then look at the cap room they get next year when they trade Martin, and they can still flip Martin at the deadline.

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Originally Posted by Hornets78

Gordon hasn't proven he's carried the load in a meaningful way. He put up big numbers on a bad team and last season played in only 9 games.

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You can't measure "carrying the load" quantitatively. Gordon has the mentality that he can put the team on his back and win the game. He takes the shot at the end of the game, and he did a great job of that last year - even though he only had a handful of opportunities. He did it every time though - immediately coming to mind is the Utah game, the Houston game, and the Phoenix game.

Thunder won this trade imo. Nice move for them.

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Originally Posted by nolaslim213

I agree that Harden is the better player, but they need balance. They would absolutely suck defensively in the post with out Ibaka. I feel like their hands were tied.

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Yeah they do, but I just feel like talent > need. Ibaka is a great shotblocker but is not great in the post. He has a lot of value in this league because of his shotblocking and athleticism, but I feel that his true defensive impact could've been a lot more easily replaced than Harden's offensive production.

OKC was just average on defense last year, while they were ELITE offensively. I think they get worse offensively and Kevin Martin makes them worse defensively too. I don't know, I just really like Harden's game and how efficient he is and I think he's a lot more irreplaceable than Ibaka.

btw. Ryan Anderson is now the official front-runner for 6th man of the year!

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Originally Posted by nolaslim213

Ouch... The Toronto pick is protected! Didn't even think about that. This changes things a bit... Probably lottery protected, which means they won't even get the pick until a few years from now.

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Nope, only top 3 this year, top 2 next year, and then top 1 protected until 2018. I'm sure OKC will get that pick this year.

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Originally Posted by Bee-Fense

Nope, only top 3 this year, top 2 next year, and then top 1 protected until 2018. I'm sure OKC will get that pick this year.

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Yeah, you caught me before I deleted it. Too fast!

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Originally Posted by nolaslim213

You can't measure "carrying the load" quantitatively. Gordon has the mentality that he can put the team on his back and win the game. He takes the shot at the end of the game, and he did a great job of that last year - even though he only had a handful of opportunities. He did it every time though - immediately coming to mind is the Utah game, the Houston game, and the Phoenix game.

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Exactly.

Gordon has the lead-dog mentality and he's shown the ability to come through at the end of games. Harden hasn't...he comes after Durant AND Westbrook.

No one has any idea how he'll perform when the defense is zoned in on him only.

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Originally Posted by LoneyROY7

Exactly.

Gordon has the lead-dog mentality and he's shown the ability to come through at the end of games. Harden hasn't...he comes after Durant AND Westbrook.

No one has any idea how he'll perform when the defense is zoned in on him only.

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Not to mention that Gordon is the far superior defender.

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Originally Posted by nolaslim213

Not to mention that Gordon is the far superior defender.

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True. If Gordon didn't have the health concerns, this wouldn't even be a discussion.

Here's to EJ bucking that trend this year.

I knew this would happen. Didn't realize okc can be this cold. Harden is a fine ball player but not as good as he honks or some Stans think he is. He and EJ are now in similar situations, it would be great to follow how they progress the rest of the year.

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Originally Posted by crenshaw

I knew this would happen. Didn't realize okc can be this cold. Harden is a fine ball player but not as good as he honks or some Stans think he is. He and EJ are now in similar situations, it would be great to follow how they progress the rest of the year.

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But EJ gets to play with AD...Harden gets Lin. lol.

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Originally Posted by nolaslim213

You can't measure "carrying the load" quantitatively. Gordon has the mentality that he can put the team on his back and win the game. He takes the shot at the end of the game, and he did a great job of that last year - even though he only had a handful of opportunities. He did it every time though - immediately coming to mind is the Utah game, the Houston game, and the Phoenix game.

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Those two games alone showed he can be very CP3-esque in carrying a team.

Terrible trade for Houston IMO

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Originally Posted by LoneyROY7

But EJ gets to play with AD...Harden gets Lin. lol.

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LOL! I realized harden and EJ will be compared for years to come and contend for the best 2 guard in the game soon. This year will be a great indication how the better player will separate himself.

I really don't think Martin is gonna like it in OKC. Playing with Durant and Westbrook? He won't enjoy that.

I think Houston won that.

I'm just glad we didn't have to pay Gordon 5year/80 mil. It looks like Houston is going to max Harden.

For those of you saying OKC will lose defense by playing Martin instead of Harden: they are equally bad defenders. Lamb is probably a better defender than either and Martin has more length to at least bother jump shots.

All three are still bad perimeter defenders.

They aren't equally bad defenders. Believe it or not, Martin is actually worst. Neither Lamb nor Martin can create or handle the ball the way Harden could. Neither can get to the line as well as Harden can especially now that the league is enforcing the Kevin Martin Rule. And most of all, Harden has the rare ability to control the tempo/pace while handling the rock. Something that a lot of people overlook when comparing the trades.

I have no doubt that Martin will benefit from the trade and prove to be useful to the Thunders. But I do not believe in no way, shape, or form that Martin will have anywhere near the effect that Harden has on the Thunders. As for Lamb, The kid is unproven and will not be much of a factor this season as long as Martin, Thabo, and Cook are fighting for minutes.