Offseason Around the NBA Thread

[AustinIllini]

Looks like 4 years at $9 mil per for Splitter in San Antonio. Tallest guy on the court still manages to disappear.

 

[BNB]

Kevin Martin going to MIN.

When the trade went down between HOU and OKC, a lot of people on this forum and around the league thought that this was a even deal, or that OKC even won the deal.

Well... one full season later, I think it's safe to assume that HOU won this deal.

Kevin Martin has agreed to sign with the T-Wolves, Dallas' pick is top 20 protected until 2018, and the dude OKC drafted this season, according to scouts, might need 2 years to fully develop. Plus, Lamb is never gonna be Harden.

Nice job OKC.

 

[JosMin]

Kevin Martin going to MIN.

When the trade went down between HOU and OKC, a lot of people on this forum and around the league thought that this was a even deal, or that OKC even won the deal.

Well... one full season later, I think it's safe to assume that HOU won this deal.

Kevin Martin has agreed to sign with the T-Wolves, Dallas' pick is top 20 protected until 2018, and the dude OKC drafted this season, according to scouts, might need 2 years to fully develop. Plus, Lamb is never gonna be Harden.

Nice job OKC.

Honestly, this is looking like one of the worst trades in quite some time. What's funny is that even without Harden, the Thunder are still a lock for 50 wins -- that's how good Durant and Westbrook are. Just think of what that team would've accomplished this year if Harden would've stayed. I mean, at the end of the day, I understand why they ended up keeping Ibaka over Harden: teams put a huge premium on athletic big men who can defend as opposed to scoring guards. Still, there's no reason the team couldn't have at least kept him until the deadline last year before trading him. Keeping him would've been worth going into the luxury tax for at least one season. And besides, they certainly could've gotten more this offseason for him.

This was a classic example of a GM over-thinking and valuing the unknown over big spending. Superstars are ALWAYS worth it in the end. Presti should've known that -- he has two of them on this team right now.

 

[BNB]

Not to put you on the spot, Jos... but I think you were one of the guys here saying it was a good deal for OKC at the time haha.

http://www.chicitysports.com/forum/showthread.php/28402-OT-Harden-to-the-Rockets?highlight=Harden

There was the thread.


What OKC should have done was amnesty Perkins and give Harden his money. That way they could have kept both Ibaka and HArden.

EDIT: Also, I never should have edited my first post in that thread. I remember first putting, "Wow. Hou clearly won" but decided to take out the second part to play it more safe haha

 

[Axl Rose]

lol @ firstimer in that thread....its funny to look on old stuff and see how wrong ppl were

i was hating on harden at that point for going ghost in the finals...but i recall me saying OKC was gonna miss Hardens playmaking

i didnt think the deal was THAT BAD for OKC tho....but it quickly turned really bad...i thought the raps pick would be allot better (as did allot of other ppl)

the truth is they shoulda amnestied that bum perkins and paid Harden...Perk has been awful since they got him....but hes been riding off his name up to this point

 

[JosMin]

Not to put you on the spot, Jos... but I think you were one of the guys here saying it was a good deal for OKC at the time haha.

http://www.chicitysports.com/forum/showthread.php/28402-OT-Harden-to-the-Rockets?highlight=Harden

There was the thread.


What OKC should have done was amnesty Perkins and give Harden his money. That way they could have kept both Ibaka and HArden.

Ha, it was nice reading my statement over. Still definitely agree it was worthwhile in the sense they picked up future assets and some financial relief. The trade definitely stings a lot more now because Harden did take the next step to a sure-fire superstar and Lamb never really saw the floor. And now that they lost out on keeping Martin, they really don't have a choice but to give him some time to develop and see how much of the gap between him and Harden he can close. The Thunder are good enough that they should be able to play their younger guys in larger portions and not worry about tarnishing their record. Steven Adams, the aforementioned Lamb, Perry Jones and Daniel Orton, Reggie Williams and DeAndre Liggins could be a solid second unit -- that's a lot of talent.

Like I said -- there was no way to figure that Harden would explode the way he did. It was also unfortunate that Toronto ended up making a small-ish run after the Rudy *** trade and made that first rounder less valuable. I still think Adams is a decent consolation prize, but there's no way to tell unless he gets a fair amount of time this year. And as I stated in my last post, I agree 100% OKC should've ended up holding onto Harden until the trade deadline, at the earliest.

 

[Axl Rose]

hard to find my post on the trade

 

[RoseMVP1]

What OKC should have done was amnesty Perkins and give Harden his money. That way they could have kept both Ibaka and HArden.

EDIT: Also, I never should have edited my first post in that thread. I remember first putting, "Wow. Hou clearly won" but decided to take out the second part to play it more safe haha

When the whole situation was going on I was trying to understand why they didn't do that. It made no sense to me at the time and it still doesn't make sense now. I would love someone to ask him why they didn't go that route and hear what he has to say about it. Perkins fell off after that injury in the finals. Not that he was that great up until that point but I don't even feel like he's any better than Nazr :shrug:

 

[CODE_BLUE56]

"Harden's going to struggle"



**** you, Harden

But to be fair to OKC, Harden was playing off of Durant and Westbrook. I thought he was going to struggle being a first option and getting the main attention. I mean, his efficiency went down a bit, but he still had a pretty damn impressive year. Harden really helped the team develop as an offensive force(didn't realize he was averaging almost 6 assists per game)

 

[BNB]

I thought Harden was gonna struggle a little too. but right after the first game, I was like, "nope."

 

[CODE_BLUE56]

I dont think we've totally seen the results of the trade though.

 

[CODE_BLUE56]

I thought Harden was gonna struggle a little too. but right after the first game, I was like, "nope."

I think the olympics helped him quite a bit. Really gave him some extra time to work on his game and play along some of the very best in the world. Also helped him segue easier into last season.

 

[BNB]

I dont think we've totally seen the results of the trade though.

Well, right now the trade looks like Harden for Jeremy Lamb, Steven Adams, a Dallas 1st tat's top 20 protected until 2018, where it's unprotected.

So that's pretty terrible.

Yeah, Lamb, stevens and whoever the guy they get with Dallas pick could wind up amazing.... but I'd bet against it. Even if 1 of them becomes decent, is that player going to be as good as Harden or give them as good of a chance to win a title? If they kept Harden, they would have had a very good shot at winning it between 2013-201[x] By the time these guys develop... who knows. Potentially, they might not see that Dallas pick until Durant is 30 years old. And it might not even be a good selection if Dallas is good.

A lot of pressure on Lamb next season. If he doesn't pan out... I'd be pissed as **** if I liked the Thunder.

 

[CODE_BLUE56]

I don't think either Lamb, Adams, or the pick later on will be nearly enough to make up for the Thunder screwing the pooch here. Although I'd like to see how Adams does(can he be their center, or will he go the way of a lot of big boys in recent drafts?) and how Lamb can develop.

I dont think Lamb had much of an opportunity to get minutes with Jackson, Sefolosha, and Martin. He did do pretty well in the D league, but it's the D league and even those who get back in the NBA from the d league dont usually stick out. So who knows what it's going to be Lamb.

 

[BNB]

Lamb's lucky he gets to play next to Durant and RW. He's not gonna see much D and he'll get a lot of good looks. He needs to take advantage of that early, get confident and then build from there. If he struggles with little D on him, then there's no hope for him, IMO.

Personally, I don't know much about Adams. From what I've heard, he's pretty raw and is going to need a couple of years to develop. People like his potential... but a lot of players have potential.

If, hypothetically, Adams winds up averaging like 14/10, and Lamb tacks on another [important, not garbage time] 17 a game, then I think this would wind up being a good trade.

 

[CODE_BLUE56]

Lamb's lucky he gets to play next to Durant and RW. He's not gonna see much D and he'll get a lot of good looks. He needs to take advantage of that early, get confident and then build from there. If he struggles with little D on him, then there's no hope for him, IMO.

Personally, I don't know much about Adams. From what I've heard, he's pretty raw and is going to need a couple of years to develop. People like his potential... but a lot of players have potential.

If, hypothetically, Adams winds up averaging like 14/10, and Lamb tacks on another [important, not garbage time] 17 a game, then I think this would wind up being a good trade.

Yep. I think even if he isn't a big producer, he will be pretty efficient. Adams could very well be a bust, we'll see.

 

[RoseMVP1]

I think the olympics helped him quite a bit. Really gave him some extra time to work on his game and play along some of the very best in the world. Also helped him segue easier into last season.

Glad you brought that up. After the Olympic trials, Rose blew up and had an MVP year, Kevin Love blew up, Russell Westbrook blew up, and Eric Gordon blew up. Idk what the **** they're doing but the improvement players have shown after playing in the trials or the real thing has been pretty incredible.

 

[RoseMVP1]

Lamb's lucky he gets to play next to Durant and RW. He's not gonna see much D and he'll get a lot of good looks. He needs to take advantage of that early, get confident and then build from there. If he struggles with little D on him, then there's no hope for him, IMO.

Personally, I don't know much about Adams. From what I've heard, he's pretty raw and is going to need a couple of years to develop. People like his potential... but a lot of players have potential.

If, hypothetically, Adams winds up averaging like 14/10, and Lamb tacks on another [important, not garbage time] 17 a game, then I think this would wind up being a good trade.

Adams is extremely raw and is a big project. He should not have left college and he didn't even want to leave. He's got like 17 brothers and sisters or some shit like that and his family is pretty poor and needed money which is the only reason he turned pro. He's probably going to need a good 2 or 3 years of developing.

 

[clonetrooper264]

Glad you brought that up. After the Olympic trials, Rose blew up and had an MVP year, Kevin Love blew up, Russell Westbrook blew up, and Eric Gordon blew up. Idk what the **** they're doing but the improvement players have shown after playing in the trials or the real thing has been pretty incredible.

Wish Taj could do that since he's on the select team and playing against these guys.

 

[DCguy]

Glad to see Tony Allen turn himself into a starter. He re-signs with the Grizzlies with a 4-year deal.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ap-source-grizzlies-sign-allen-042547586--nba.html