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| James Harden, Serge Ibaka, Victor Claver, and Pau Gasol (Photo credit: ctsnow) |
In professional sports, it’s often about the money. And at the end of the day, the Oklahoma City Thunder didn’t have the money for guard James Harden.
So late Saturday, the Thunder, who lost to the Miami Heat in five games in last season’s NBA Finals, traded Harden to the Houston Rockets for guards Kevin Martin and Jeremy Lamb, two first-round picks and second-round pick. The Rockets received center Cole Aldrich, guard Daequan Cook and forward Lazar Hayward in the deal.
Harden, the 2011-12 sixth man of the year and a London Olympics gold medalist with Team USA, and the Thunder had been involved in talks about an extension, but the two sides could not find common ground. Instead of risk losing Harden as a restricted free agent after the 2012-13 season, the Thunder decided to make sure they got something in return.
“While I never like having to send out quality players like Kevin Martin and Jeremy Lamb, this trade gives us a chance to make an immediate impact on the future of our franchise moving forward,” Rockets owner Leslie Alexander said in a statement. “James Harden was part of Team USA’s gold medal team at the London Olympics and is one of the most skilled shooting guards in the NBA. James, along with the mix of young players we already have in place such as (guard) Jeremy Lin, (forward) Chandler Parsons and (center) Omer Asik give us a very solid group of young, talented players who will form the core of our team.”
The deal cuts to the heart of the plight of small- and mid-market teams such as the Thunder. Can they return all of their top players? Are they willing to have a payroll that surpasses the luxury tax and are they willing to pay the tax when they go over? The Thunder have more than $200 million tied up in salary for forward Kevin Durant, guard Russell Westbrook and forward Serge Ibaka through 2016-17.
Just before midnight ET, Durant tweeted, “Wow.”
http://www.hoopsworld.com/james-harden-trade-by-thunder-shows-its-all-about-the-money/
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