Monday Bolts – 10.29.12

Berry Tramel: “James Harden boarded an airplane Sunday morning, bound for Houston. He was “devastated,” said someone who knows the Bearded One. Harden and his family both. Said Harden was stunned that the Thunder actually traded him to the Rockets. He didn’t believe the Thunder would do it. But Sam Presti told him. Presti’s lips now are sealed, but sources from both parties said that the Thunder appealed one final time to Harden on Friday. Upped its offer to $53 million over four years but told Harden if he didn’t take it, he would be traded to Houston. Presti didn’t use that as a warning. He used it as a plea. He desperately wanted to keep Harden, but this was the last best offer. And the Thunder gave Harden an hour to accept.”

Ball Don’t Lie’s Thunder preview: “The too-quick end to Oklahoma City’s season last year was disappointing, even if it lasted five games into the NBA Finals. Three of the four losses to the Heat came in close games, however, and the Thunder boast the sort of top-heavy rotation parts that postseasons are made to utilize. Despite our worries about Brooks, he has managed to push this team gradually each year, and if the season-to-season histories of past champions in Philadelphia, Detroit, Chicago and Miami are any indication, the Thunder could cash in for good in 2012-13. The Lakers are sturdier, to say the absolute least, and the Heat aren’t going anywhere. They still have to beat the Thunder four times in seven potential tries, though. That’s still a significant task.”

Jenni Carlson: “I know that’s not sexy, Thunder fans. I know you’d be a lot more fired up if this trade was all about winning a title now, but if Presti and the Thunder would’ve given Harden everything what he wanted, they would’ve been mortgaging the future. Maybe they would’ve been able to make good on it, but in a small market with an extremely punishing luxury-tax rate, it could’ve gone bad. Really, really bad. That might not provide solace for you, Thunder fans. You’re hurting. You’re worried. I understand.”

At CBSSports.com: Keeping Harden was clearly the plan, but there was a Plan B.

Brian Geltzeiler of Sheridan Hoops: “My only problem with the deal is that is that the Thunder have been a franchise who’ve done everything right. To have to trade a core guy they drafted because they are concerned with the punitive luxury tax is a failure of this new CBA. What was advertised as a system that would help small markets has robbed a small market team who’s personnel decisions have been virtually perfect.”

Kelly Dwyer of BDL on the deal: “Overall, it’s a brilliant move. We’re not expecting great things from the low level-lottery pick the Thunder will take in from Toronto, but the Thunder found a way to stay nearly as competitive while attempting to grab some needed depth along the way. And though the expiring contract market is often overvalued, they won’t have Martin’s eight-figure salary to worry about come July. Don’t pen Kevin Martin in, as great as he can be, as having the same impact as Harden. We’re aware of the True Shooting percentages, and Martin’s newfound ability to play against lesser defenders off the bench. He, even with Lamb, isn’t quite at Harden’s level.”

James Harden with some early comments in Houston.

Bill Simmons on LeBron: “And yeah, with the greatest basketball season in 20 years looming, I understand it’s easy to get distracted by admittedly juicy story lines like the Lakers trotting out four future Hall of Famers, or two suddenly juicy Nets-Knicks and Clippers-Lakers rivalries, or Derrick Rose’s potential comeback, or possible leap seasons for Rajon Rondo (a runner-up MVP candidate) and Kyrie Irving (as a top-15 guy), or Oklahoma City’s “kids” using last year’s bitter Finals defeat as motivation for a possible Eff You season. Just know that it’s all window dressing — fun subplots to pass the time, keep us engaged, keep us arguing, keep us watching. From a big-picture standpoint? History says LeBron James is getting ready to destroy everybody. No other angle really matters.”

Andrew Unterberger of TBJ on the NBA’s best rivalries: “The Finals matchup of last year, obviously, and likely the matchup of at least one or two more Finals in years to come. Meanwhile, Durant is the only real threat to LeBron’s league supremacy (though the two are friends off the court for some disturbing reason), Westbrook is a little like Dwyane Wade 2.0, and Perkins … well, he’s nothing like Chris Bosh, but hopefully he’ll club him in the neck or something this year just because. The potential for Heat-Thunder to be the next great recurring Finals matchup in pro sports is there, and though the odds are against it — just like they are with any sort of co-dynasty — it’s doubtful anyone would mind if it came to fruition. Besides Celtics and Lakers fans, that is.”

Darnell Mayberry: “For anyone to even suggest that OKC low-balled Harden is laughable. It would be simple-minded for someone to claim that the Thunder tried to operate on the cheap here. No one can assert that the Thunder has been frugal. How else has the team kept Nick Collison, Thabo Sefolosha, Kendrick Perkins, Kevin Durant, Daequan Cook, Nazr Mohammed, Russell Westbrook, Scott Brooks and even Presti over the years? By paying big bucks, of course. Harden, the team’s third best player, wanted franchise player money and somehow the Thunder is wrong for shipping him out when his camp barely budged when bargaining? Doesn’t add up.”

A Thunder fan remembers James Harden.

Tom Ziller of SB Nation: “Not all superteams can be viewed in the same prism. Oklahoma City will never get the TV deals that the Lakers can pull. Oklahoma City can never charge the ticket prices the Heat or Knicks do. Oklahoma City does not have a team owner who can lose money for a decade like the Mavericks or Celtics. All Oklahoma City can do is ensure the team can be profitable for as long as Kevin Durant can play. And that means that Oklahoma City needs to make sure it can be successful for as long as possible. It’s about more than tomorrow for small market teams in the NBA. It has to be. It just has to be.”

Zach Lowe of Grantland’s take: “Both sides forced each other into a choice, and the Thunder have chosen Westbrook and Ibaka over Harden. Those are both fascinating choices, and we’ll delve further into them later in the week. There is a wide range of opinion around the league about whether the Thunder have chosen correctly on either count. Any of the three paths is defensible, but the Thunder have taken a risk in dealing a proven All-Star-level player and betting on Ibaka developing into that kind of player. But it’s an understandable one, given the skill overlap between Durant, Westbrook, and Harden, and the fact that none of those three is a proven plus perimeter defender at this point. This isn’t the best choice for the Thunder’s championship aspirations. That would have involved giving the Harden-Durant-Westbrook core one more season to chase the ring, or even accepting one hefty tax bill in 2013-14. The Thunder have been profitable for the last couple of years; why not exchange one year of losses for two years of true title contention?”

Not my favorite Harden column.

Andrew Kamenetzky of ESPN LA: “Having said that, Harden’s loss will be felt. In a big way. Martin isn’t necessarily better at putting up points and, in the meantime, Harden is better at literally everything else, including staying healthy. He’s among the more multiskilled wings in the league, much less on the Thunder, and that do-it-all skill set will be missed — particularly on the defensive end, where Martin has spent a career as a turnstile.”

Bradford Doolittle for ESPN.com on Harden: “Does that make Harden a franchise centerpiece, the potential top player on a championship team? It’s possible, but most likely it seems like he’s more apt to become a No. 2 because of limitations in playmaking and on the defensive end, where he is merely adequate. So again, there is still work for to do for Morey. However, it’s hard not to be excited if you’re a Rockets fan. After last season ended, it was difficult to imagine a path that would lead to the Rockets’ next window of contention. After Saturday’s trade, that path is now well-lit.”

Seth Rosenthal writing power rankings for SB Nation: “These rankings are being written at a time when we’re all still losing our minds over Saturday night’s whammy of a James Harden trade. AHHHHHHH!!!! But anyway, Kevin Martin’s a fine player and Jeremy Lamb could be terrific, but it’ll take something unexpected from those two or a major step forward from a guy like Eric Maynor for OKC to come even close to replacing Harden’s all-purpose virtuosity on offense. This season, that is.”

Matt Moore of CBSSports.com picks Kevin Martin to win Sixth Man: “Well, the last guy in his spot with the Thunder won it. Martin has never been on a team with this much talent. He won’t have to be the primary scoring option and despite his defensive troubles, can light up the scoreboard against the reserves, which is how this award is often attributed.”

Moore has KD No. 2 for MVP: “Durant didn’t just improve defensively last year, however. His defense, which for so long had been the issue, finally started to take a step forward. More and more he accepted the toughest defensive role on the perimeter, and his one-on-one defense thrived. His length has gone from an awkward liability to a tactical advantage, his strength catching up as he enters true manhood physically. But it stays with the offense for Durant’s candidacy. He’s the most likeable candidate, to be sure, and his intangibles are admirable as well. But it’s the 24-year-old’s ability to put the ball in the basket that puts him No.2 on this list.”