Trade the Beard? Thoughts on the James Harden Situation

Late Saturday evening, the Oklahoma City Thunder sent shockwaves through the league, dealing Sixth Man of the Year, James Harden, to Houston for a pack of skittles and the new Taylor Swift CD. Ok, not really. But based off of the reaction around the league, you'd think that was the case.

In reality, the thunder swapped Harden for sharp shooter Kevin Martin, future stud Jeremy Lamb, and some draft picks. So the question is, who won the trade? The easy answer: Houston. They pick up a guy that may very well be on the brink of super-stardom.  A guy that was the third wheel of a deadly trio for the West Conference champs just a year ago. A guy with, easily, the best beard in the entire league.

All of this is true of Harden, but on the other hand, prior to Wednesday night, Harden had never started in an NBA game. Plus, the last two occasions we saw him play basketball, the NBA Finals and the Olympics, he looked…unimpressive.

So the question is, who is James Harden? Or rather, which James Harden did the Houston Rockets get? The almost superstar of the 2012 regular season, or the disappointing Harden of the NBA Finals? Either way, they get Harden's beard, which is also on the brink of stardom.



If Wednesday night is any indication, though, the Rockets made the right deal. Harden (and his beard) went crazy dropping 37 points and 12 assists in his first career start. While we've got to wait until tonight (vs. Spurs) to check out the new look, beardless thunder, I'm gonna make the bold prediction that none of their new acquisitions will play the way harden did.

So there you have it, the rockets win the trade, right? Well, yeah, but in truth I think this was a good move for everyone involved, not just the Rockets.

The Rockets find the face (and beard) of their franchise, a piece to go along with Jeremy Lin, something to build on for the future. James Harden finally gets to be the guy on his team. I'm sure Harden enjoyed teaming up with the two of the best players in the league and all, and surely he's a better player because of it, but this is a great opportunity for him to run the show himself. And if he can keep his game at the level it was on Halloween, look out!

Finally, the Oklahoma City Thunder, how could they have possibly come out ok in this trade? Well firstly, ownership shows that they are in charge, not the players. Harden wants more than the Thunder feels he's worth, so they ship him out of town. Good for them. That's the way it should be, and with the league's new luxury tax coming into play here soon, I think we'll see more of it. Then you look at the guys that got back in return, Kevin Martin and Jeremy lamb. Martin can flat out shoot, which I think will be more beneficial to this Thunder team than Harden's slashing, distributing style. I think he spreads the floor better than a James Harden does. Then you have, Lamb, who in my opinion, might be the steal of the draft. I've been high on this guy since the 2011 NCAA tourney, and I think he's gonna be an absolute baller. Immediately? Probably not, but the guy has potential, and this organization has a track record of capitalizing on potential. Plus, it can't hurt that he's practicing with KD and Westbrook everyday.

Short-term, this Thunder team will miss James Harden.  He, KD, and Westbrook played well together, and chemistry is a hard thing to replace in this league, but eventually things will click, everyone will figure out their roles, and the Thunder will make another run into the playoffs.  Meanwhile, Houston will look to make a playoff run themselves with Harden as the focal point of their offense.

Did OKC handle this situation perfectly? Probably not. They were some other options: pay Harden his money, keep him and pull off a sign and trade later, or maybe a different package in return for the bearded bench star. But at the end of the day, I trust Sam Presti and company made what they thought was the best move for them. They've used unconventional thinking before and it's worked out quite well for them (e.g.: drafting Westbrook over Kevin Love). Might they regret dealing harden? It's possible, maybe even likely.  But realistically, this was inevitable. It's nearly impossible to pay 3 guys superstar money and still compete for the NBA title (I'm looking at you, Miami).  At least they got something of value in return for the guy.  I know I'm in the minority with this stance, but I can't blame the Thunder. They did what they had to do, and I believe, in the end, it will work out for all parties involved.