Revisiting the James Harden to Houston Rockets trade
By John Bauman
There are certain blockbuster trades in the NBA that have endless repercussions on the association as a whole. The vetoed Chris Paul trade sent the Lakers into a downward spiral, sent the Clippers spiraling up and impacted countless Western Conference teams. The Dwight Howard trade had a huge impact on the Lakers, the Rockets and especially the Magic, who are still figuring out just what they got in return for Howard. But the trade with quite possibly the biggest leaguewide repercussions over the last few years is the James Harden trade.
Its been written about before. Grantland’s excellent NBA writer Zach Lowe has written about the trade three times since it happened. Bill Simmons has tackled the trade in his columns a number of times as well, along with countless others. Everyone keeps writing about it because it is such a big deal. This trade shaped the top of the NBA landscape for the next 6-8 years. At least.
Unlike the CP3 or Dwight Howard trades, this trade impacted the top tier of NBA teams. Oklahoma City had a potential dynasty team torn apart. The Spurs had a renaissance in their place, taking advantage of Tim Duncan’s ageless talent. The Heat were able to nab two NBA titles, one against the Thunder with Harden and one against the Spurs. Don’t you think a Thunder team with James Harden would have given the Spurs a big run for their money in both 2013 and 2014? But the Heat probably would have played better against the Thunder in both the 2013 and 2014 Finals. If Harden stays with OKC, you could convince me that the Thunder have 1 or 2 titles or that the Heat have 1 or 2 titles. This trade impacted the very top of the league and will continue to do so for years to come.
Let’s give a quick recap of the trade, for those who have forgotten. The Thunder got Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb and Steven Adams in the deal. Martin was just a short term rental, however, as he now plays with the Timberwolves. This deal was a rip off, obviously. A rental of Kevin Martin, a project in Jeremy Lamb and a low ceiling high effort center in Steven Adams? For James Harden? It looked bad at the time for the Thunder, and even then we didn’t know how good Harden would be. Now that we see what Harden has become, it looks even worse for OKC.
I want to focus on the core of the trade, not the supplemental parts. Jeremy Lamb is still an unknown and Steven Adams is looking pretty good, but neither of them are too important in the big scheme of things. James Harden and his stardom is at the center of this trade.
Is James Harden a star? Is he more or less valuable than Serge Ibaka, whom the Thunder sort of picked over Harden back in 2012? Would James Harden have thrived like he did in Houston if he was still in OKC? Those are the core questions of the trade, looking back a long time after. The key with the first trade is this video. Anytime you mention James Harden and NBA star, you have this major asterisk…
James Harden is not very good at defense. The Thunder knew this when they traded him away, it was not a secret or this fact was not exposed in Houston like some think it was. The Thunder chose Serge Ibaka for his defense, knowing that they had two dominant scorers already on the team in Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. In this case, the Thunder knew they were pressed up against the cap having to pay four stars. They wanted to pay only three and took a calculated gamble in trading away extra offense to place an emphasis on Serge Ibaka’s defense, hoping that Ibaka would defensively as well.
I think they made the right choice in picking Ibaka over Harden. I can’t imagine Harden thriving on a team with two ball dominant stars already in place for OKC. Harden is better than a sixth man, and while he isn’t a star, he deserves his own team in Houston. Serge Ibaka is more valuable than Harden to the Thunder because he is a plus defender and a developing offensive threat that can coexist, not clash, with the Thunder’s stars that are already in place.
Regardless, the trade happened and James Harden thrived in Houston. The Thunder cost themselves a shot at having a third superstar and a potential super team, but instead stayed smart and calculating like a small market team must do in the current NBA landscape. The Thunder set themselves up for future success with the current roster. Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka still make a great big three. Oklahoma City still has a great team, but they are left wondering what could have been if James Harden would have stuck around in OKC for a few more years.
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