Official NBA 2012-2013 Season Thread

[murkn3m]

Media is always quick to criticize something, How about you just let them boys play
And see what they do.... Then you can say this man ain't that man he ain't doing squat.

 

[jumpmantwenty3]

That being said, I completely understand why OKC made this move. We touched on it earlier, but it would have been foolish to keep Harden on the roster for the season (with his contract status in the air) and not get anything in return if he chose to walk at the end of the season - which was likely.

This pretty much sums it up. Why let the dude walk for nothing when you can get something of value in return?

 

[antidope]

Man, Houston has to change their uniforms.

I've been saying that forever...Them jawns they wear now look like WNBA unis...Houston & the Suns have the worse unis...

Hawks

That being said, I completely understand why OKC made this move. We touched on it earlier, but it would have been foolish to keep Harden on the roster for the season (with his contract status in the air) and not get anything in return if he chose to walk at the end of the season - which was likely.

This pretty much sums it up. Why let the dude walk for nothing when you can get something of value in return?

Of course, and in regards to Harden I cant really blame him for not wanting to stay, hes about to get everything hes wanted, and IMO OKC didnt have a chance to get past the new look Lakers or MIA anyways, not to mention the Spurs. Why even bother.

 

[hood17]

What other options did OKC have when it came to Jeff Green? Was there someone maybe cheaper than Perk.

IDC what anyone says. Spurs have a legit shot of coming out now.

Wonder if Westbrook goes into the same mental/emotional slump Rondo did when Perk got traded......Naw he gets more shots

This makes the top of the West more interesting.

I don't see Harden at all staying in Houston

 

[thapointguy]

Lamb is the player in this trade that I'm more interested in. Durant will be a good mentor to Lamb. I don't think Lamb would flourish had he been a Rocket. Scott Brooks is a better fit for Lamb too imo. Time will tell.

 

[airjordan jb23]

I understand why OKC made the deal because you can't have Harden leaving & not getting anything back. With Harden, he has a chance to get a lot more money, so I understand that as well, even though that OKC team had a good squad. They'll be fine without him, but he was a great compliment to Russy & KD.

Houston got the better end of the deal imo, but Lamb has potential so I see the risk OKC took (considering Hardens contract situation). I think Kevin Martin will benifit off the 6th man role as well if he can stay healthy. Houston came out on top with this deal, but OKC didn't take a complete loss (even though I still like Harden on that team over Lamb & Martin).

 

[jhawk826]

What other options did OKC have when it came to Jeff Green? Was there someone maybe cheaper than Perk.

IDC what anyone says. Spurs have a legit shot of coming out now.

Wonder if Westbrook goes into the same mental/emotional slump Rondo did when Perk got traded......Naw he gets more shots

This makes the top of the West more interesting.

I don't see Harden at all staying in Houston

True. Doesn't Dallas have MAX cap space?

And yes, the Rockets desperately need a uniform change. It is long overdue.

 

[osh kosh bosh]

I don't see Harden at all staying in Houston

This si something that people keep not getting.

Nobody EVER turn down the restricted free agent max extension, NOBODY. Eric Gordon wasn't going to neither will Harden.

 

[PatRiley]

they should of traded Harden for the Wizards pick and gotten Beal....

 

[mmg]

If harden wouldnt stay with OKC for 4.5 Millie less ....


you honestly think hes not going to take that Money for Houston? I'd Be shocked

 

[julius wrek]

Hey_

2 open roster spots,

gotta wonder how OKC fills 'em.

Julius F. Wrek

 

[Bert.]

they should of traded Harden for the Wizards pick and gotten Beal....

 

[datznasty]

Your Avy & your first sentence look like their working in tandem DatZNasty....Ha, ha. You don't think OKC is doing a good job? I think your right, they could've made another run with the current line-up but since Harden turned down what looks like a fair deal, I think they wanted to make a trade quickly. Possibly to limit the ongoing talk about resigning & an eminent trade if a deal couldn't be done. It looks like OKC didn't want their focus away from trying to get a chip & got a really nice return especially for a team that drafts well...Shoot I wouldn't doubt there was some anger on OKC's part in trading Harden...

I just like that Presti apparently stood up to Pelinka and James and wasn't taking any ****. You have to wonder if James really wanted to leave, would have taken the deal, but his agent was telling him play poker on it to squeeze a couple more mil out.

I like Lamb better than Beal by the way. Beal seems small to me, I like Lamb's size (pause) defensively guarding 2s and 3s.

Funny how people keep trying to downplay James now for coming off the bench, like he wasn't still in at the end of games destroying teams (save for the finals). Crazy stat, but he lead the NBA in 4th quarter fts, and any Mavs fan will tell you about game 4 in the 4th quarter, the 3 in game 5 of the Spurs series, etc. Then allowing him to effectively slide over to the 1 and let Westbrook play off the ball, 38% of his shots at the basket versus 18%, ... whatever it has already all been said.

There's nothing Kevin Martin does better than Harden. Lamb is going to be good, could be great, but he isn't Harden either, not yet.

I mean could all parties involved have at least slept on it?

What's more telling than what I think is what fans of other contenders think. Here is an article from Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express http://blog.mysanantonio.com/buckharvey/2012/10/presti-trades-his-manu/ Sans for all the Manu crap (which isn't really far off but wasn't needed either), he gets it.

Here's a Lakerground link and sans for comments like this, Now that Harden is going to be a starter (I assume), does that mean Blake has a chance at sixth man of the year?, pretty spot on about it. They're rejoicing

http://forums.lakersground.net/viewtopic.php?t=150836&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=25

 

[pmatic]

@Peter_R_Casey Your NBA Social Media Directory for 2012-13 http://bit.ly/U7rkGq

If you are active on Twitter and want to keep up with a lot (all?) of teams.

 

[Kimchi Papi]

I don't think Martin is better than Harden but I think he will be serviceable for what OKC needs. I'm actually interested to see how he performs on a championship caliber team & one that has a decent coaching staff along with a team environment. Having said that, I don't think Martin is in OKC's long term plans. Also interested in seeing how Lamb develops.

 

[ill steelo]

In sure there was a alot of factors in all of this. Presti made the best decision possible for his franchise and what he seemed proper.

A max contract for a bench player? Ehhhh.

REGULAR SEASON
OKC offense w/James Harden: 114.96 points per 100 possessions
OKC offense w/o James Harden: 100.84 points per 100 possessions

PLAYOFFS

OKC offense w/James Harden: 115.13 points per 100 possessions
OKC offense w/o James Harden: 102.46 points per 100 possessions

League average offense: 104.6 points per 100 possessions
Leauge best offense: 110.9 points per 100 possesions

his presence in the lineup turns the OKC offense from well below average / bad into by far the best in the league. Westbrook / Durant / Harden virtually assured the Thunder of a Top 3 offense for as long as they are together.

In addition to Harden being around 50/40/90 and getting 6 FTAs on just 10 FGAs, and had a better PER than every SG not named Bryant or Wade in the playoffs.

All of this at just 23 years old with 3 seasons in the league.

And he played 10 more mpg per game than they guy in front of him & was on the floor to close out games, so he was their primary option at SG.

Great trade for the Thunder for the long term, looks great for the future.

.

Only if Lamb pans out after his rookie deal expires, or else Presti is gonna have to do this all over again in 3 years. And the Thunder will regress again after that trade.

 

[datznasty]

http://www.koco.com/news/oklahomane...ts/-/9844008/10990302/-/14pomfqz/-/index.html live press conference right now. You have to click play

 

[guttagetsbusy]

Rockets lost.

 

[sneakerrheadtwo3]

http://www.koco.com/news/oklahomane...ts/-/9844008/10990302/-/14pomfqz/-/index.html live press conference right now. You have to click play

good looks on this.

 

[kingfoamnyc]

OKC won't even make it to the WCF.

 

[solarius49]

we all know harden>>whatever crap. but its clear as day harden wasnt going to resign with OKC so why keep him. your good with throwing out your fantasy trades. so name any that would have made OKC better right now? martin is going to play the same role


with harden did OKC have the SG advantage over LA? if kevin martin is coming off the bench he is better anything the lakers have on there's


OKC is still the lakers threat to win the east. and like a great GM he has the thunder in the hunt for this year and anything down the line

Martin is not remotely good enough to play that same role.. The reason Harden worked is because he could shoot the 3. Shoot mid range. Get to the bucket. Score and draw the foul. He was quick and he played pestering defense..

Martin is injury prone.. Everyone knows it.. Not only that he doesn't get to the bucket.. So you can let him stand there and shoot 3s if you want while KD & Russ do the same. While Dwight stands around the rim with nobody attacking.

And no Lakers SG position was better before.. But with Harden and Thabo it was manageable. Thabo causes problems for Kobe on Offense.. Harden does on Defense.. Kobe has zero problems on Defense with Martin or Thabo... And Martin isn't going to cause problems for Kobe on Defense either.

And no OKC is no longer the threat to LA... Sure they'll get 55 wins.. But I'll take SA & Clipps as bigger postseason threats now..

And with demolishing their bench by getting rid of Harden.... Their bench is no better than LA's...

And there were dozens of trades out there that would have been better for OKC... Morey went for blood, and played them in their desperation..

You can also try to use the same tired line about "fantasy trades" but I know my ****, and have proven I know my ****.

Kevin Martin will be fine. Actually in his matchups against Kobe, their point totals has been pretty even since 2008. I'm not saying hes a star and I'm not saying that he is equal to Harden, but if he can give them 10-15 ppg, how can anybody complain? His injury proneness will be less of an issue since he will be playing way less minutes. I did think they should have tried to turn Harden and Perk into Joakim Noah though.

 

[bhzmafia14]

If some of y'all really think OKC will be ok without Harden's playmaking, something is wrong. I said a while back that they should've moved Ibaka or Perk before Harden. He's just too valuable for the way that team plays. They are going to rely on Maynor alot to make plays because I know they don't trust Westbrook.

An even bigger question is what will happen next offseason when Martin is gone?

I was always a fan of Lamb, so I still like the deal for OKC. Honestly, if Houston offered that same package for Rudy, I would want Memphis to do it. But, I don't necessarily agree with OKC making the move right now. Just weird timing. This could be the first move to really mess OKC up.

 

[solarius49]

A bench rotation of

Reggie Jackson
Maynor
Perry Jones
Lamb
Kevin Martin

isnt bad, and it gives them what they really need, which is MORE reliable scorers off the bench. The problem is that while Harden was really good for them, when they had reserves on the court, Harden was the only one who could score the ball reliably. Now, even if Lamb and Jones just become AVERAGE, they will have 4 guys they can lean on to score points while Durant and Westbrook rest. Interior scoring is still their biggest deficit though

 

[MVP]

Wow. Staples Center WCFs now. They could have just waited and played this season out, unbelievable.

 

[datznasty]

Some fans

James arriving in Houston.

Lamb and Martin will be introduced after practice tomorrow.

Nothing noteworthy from the press conference other than Presti was really non committal on Eric Maynor saying they'll let the season play out then negotiate, but here's an MP3 of it. http://www.dailythunder.com/audio/PrestiHardenConf.MP3