Breaking down the Harden Trade

While watching the Sooners-Irish game a game break popped up on tube saying the Thunder traded swingman James Harden. I was a little shocked that it happen but I remembered seeing a link that said he turned down a 4 year 52 million dollar deal earlier in the day. Yeah that’s good dough. I later found out that Sam Presti offered Harden 4 years 55.5 million before trading the reigning 6th man of the year.

Lets breakdown the details of the trade:

• Oklahoma City Thunder receive G Kevin Martin, G Jeremy Lamb, 2 1stround picks and a 2nd round pick
• Houston Rockets receive G James Harden, G Daequan Cook, C Cole Aldrich and F Lazar Hayward

This deal was a money move that actually should turn out good for both teams. Harden wanted the max which the Thunder didn’t want to offer with already having two max guys under contract. Houston wanted a young star and have the cash to offer what Harden wants 4 or 5 years at 60-75 million. Don’t get me wrong the Thunder wanted to keep Harden you can tell by the deal that was on the table before the trade. Before people in Oklahoma panic too much just think they are getting a proven scorer and a ton of potential with Lamb and the draft picks. The wildcard of the trade is a person who wasn’t even apart of it, that person is  Eric Maynor. Maynor was hurt last year with a knee injury but this year he will be back in the fold for the Thunder. Maynor will help with the backup duties and even be able to run point at times to allow Westbrook to move over to the 2 guard. Getting Martin is a legit move because his money is off the books at the end of the year which gives the front office a more flexibility. Martin won’t have the pressure of being the go to guy which could lead to him being even more lethal (either off the bench or starting at the 2).

Houston finally gets a person they covet after striking out over the last year(Gasol, Howard, Bynum). With Harden and Lin they have two young guards they feel they can build around. Houston gave up picks for get their guy, I don’t know if I would have given up 3 picks but I guess when you have struck out as much as they have in the last year you have to make it happen if the person you want is on the table.

This will be the first time during his NBA career that Harden will be the lead man will he be able to excel? Will he be haunted by the piss poor performance in the finals? Either way the kid will be at least 60 million dollars richer after he gets an extension on Wednesday.

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