The impact of the James Harden Trade

The Trade:
In an NBA offseason dominated by Dwight Howard & Steve Nash headlines the Western Conference gets a little juicier with a trade I'm sure no one expected. Here's how the trade breaks down if you haven't seen it.
OKC gets: Kevin Martin (funny looking shot), Jeremy Lamb (one of my busts), 2 first round picks in 2013, and a 2nd round pick in 2013.
Houston gets: James Harden (6th man of the year winner last year), Cole Aldrich (probably won't here this guys name every again after this post), Lazar Hayward (same as Aldrich comment), and Daequan Cook (will be inserted to hit some 3's over the course of the year).


Houston moving forward:
On a team where Jeremy Lin will touch the ball as much as possible, I don't fully like this move for the Rockets. The Rockets have been the busiest team in the last several months and I actually thought it was a good move acquiring the 2013 first pick from the Raptors, but they have gone and flushed that move down the toilet. Anyway, the Rockets starting five looks like it will be Lin, Harden, Parsons, Patterson, and Asik. They're starting five actually is pretty decent but I question the ability of Lin & Harden to play together when they both like to handle the ball an awful lot. Another area I question is the bench of the Rockets which is below average with me being nice by saying that. The upside is they have two rookies in Royce White & Terrence Jones that could potentially break out, and overall they're a very young team with a bright future. I just hate to see when a team throws all of their money at one guy that only proved himself over a short period of time and a guy who I'm not 100% sure you can build a team around. With their draft picks gone we will see what kind of team the Houston Rockets are moving forward but I wouldn't get too excited just yet.

OKC moving forward:
At first, I won't lie I was like why in the bleep did you just trade the 6th man of the year. But, then I looked more into what they got for him and I came around. I don't mind them acquiring Lamb because he has a chance to become a superstar, and if he doesn't there is really no harm done. What stands out to me is the money they save trading Harden & the two first round picks. OKC has a great track record of drafting well and Sam Presti will have two shots at drafting an excellent player in the 2013 draft. Also, by saving the money they would have forked over to Harden they now have the ability to leverage those picks in a trade and possibly get a quality player close to the trade deadline. Moving forward I like OKC's future in the long run more than the short run, but the additions of Kevin Martin who can fill the net and a young guy in Lamb who can learn from one of the best in the game doesn't hurt them either.

Houston has showed it's hand, while I think OKC has given us just a little taste. Trade winner goes to the Oklahoma City Thunder for me.

Written by:

Garrett Daly
@DalyGarrett