They gave this dude an hour??? Just one hour??

[GzUp]

They couldn't tell him to go home and think about it with the family... But just to say u have a hour is some bull shyt.

 

[DoubleJ13]

That hour bullshyt is overrated. He had all off season to figure it out. All he kept saying was that it would all resolve itself in the end. He knew he wasn't getting max in OKC, so it was either take a little less or figure Presti would try to do something. I don't know why he is still talking about it though, he got what he ultimatly wanted which was the max.

 

[Skip b]

That hour bullshyt is overrated. He had all off season to figure it out. All he kept saying was that it would all resolve itself in the end. He knew he wasn't getting max in OKC, so it was either take a little less or figure Presti would try to do something. I don't know why he is still talking about it though, he got what he ultimatly wanted which was the max.

This didn't even have to be dealt with until at the all star break or after the season

 

[SoulController]

That hour bullshyt is overrated. He had all off season to figure it out. All he kept saying was that it would all resolve itself in the end. He knew he wasn't getting max in OKC, so it was either take a little less or figure Presti would try to do something. I don't know why he is still talking about it though, he got what he ultimatly wanted which was the max.

/thread

Bad Beard knew what it was, OKC made a good deal out of it

 

[NV-ME]

You talking about women or players? Never can be too sure around these parts.

 

[DoubleJ13]

This didn't even have to be dealt with until at the all star break or after the season

Presti wasn't letting it get that far. You wait until the all star break & risk killing the team in the second half of the year. You do it when they did everyone has the year together to get comfortable & shyt. Waiting until after the season makes what you can get back worse.

They got a prospect in Lamb. A big expiring deal in Martin that they can flip again, re-sign him for less, or let him walk & get that salary off the team. 3 picks that could all turn out great in terms of position in the draft. Raptors pick is a potential lottery pick that Houston might not have gave up later down the line after Toronto has played & you get an idea of where the pick will be. They got a very early 2nd rounder from the Bobcats that could be someone who falls for whatever reason or a solid college player.

Meanwhile Harden got what he wanted which was the max & a bigger role on a team. Plus with OKC trading him when they did they got him an extra year & all that extra money. In the end OKC did what was right for them & strangly helped Harden out too.

 

[Egomaniacal1]

I can understand him feeling a certain way about being given just an hour, but at the end of the day business is business. He a grown ass man and he had a decision to make. At the point where OKC was clear that they wasn't trying/willing to spend max money on him and have to deal with the luxury tax hit he knew all he needed to know. They wasn't valuing him like he thought he should have been being valued.

Money aside the choice he had to make is do you stay with a team who we'll assume will continue to only value you as a role player and not part of a big three BUT you are still playing with guys who you can definitely see winning a championship(s) with sooner rather than later....OR is being the man/an equal part of a big 2 or 3 worth leaving that type of team for? Obviously he chose either the money, being the man or both....but something tells me he wanted to stay in OKC and wishes he had.

It seems like a win-win for both sides right now but we won't really know that until we see who ends up in the playoffs/finals for the next few years. My personal take based off reading about how efficient a player he was at OKC is that maybe they should have valued him more instead of trying to play him to the left cuz they didn't wanna move/restructure other players. At the same time i'mma fault him for trying to get max money when on the face of it he hadn't shown(especially with that finals performance) he should have gotten max money today/this year. He should have shot for a deal with less years and revisted things later on.

 

[SuburbanPimp]

I feel like both parties won. Kevin Martin and Jeremy Lamb isn't anything to sneeze at and they got picks. Houston got them a franchise player and legit star. Harden got paid, OKC got the flexibilty they wanted and some nice Picks and we know their GM is pretty good at selecting talent. I don't see who is really the loser...

You can make a case that Houston gave up too much... but I think they are happy

It would be nice for them to give dude a day to mull it over but hey

 

[Higher Tech]

NBA players can do whatever the fukk they want. If a player is good and makes a personally beneficial decision, he gets vilified. IF a player is good and his team screws him over and sends him packing, the player gets vilified. The sports media is obsessed with always vilifying players, there's no need for us to play along with their nonsense.

I don't think this article vilified anyone.

 

[FloorGeneral]

he had all season to decide his agent knew damn well what he was gonna get offered

That hour bullshyt is overrated. He had all off season to figure it out. All he kept saying was that it would all resolve itself in the end. He knew he wasn't getting max in OKC, so it was either take a little less or figure Presti would try to do something. I don't know why he is still talking about it though, he got what he ultimatly wanted which was the max.

Agree 100%.

This didn't even have to be dealt with until at the all star break or after the season

Ahh, so you didn't actually read the article. Go figure.


Look here, I don't give a fukk what James Harden did. If he wanted that max contract, and a chance at being 'The Man", that's cool. I have no problem with that. If he wanted to stay in OKC , on the cusp of possible multiple chances at rings, for less money, that's cool too. He made his decision, and good luck to him. But don't come out here with this "man, they only gave me an hour...I needed to pray on this, you know?" bullshyt.

Y'all know damn well he knew what OKC was gonna offer him (I.E. NOT the max). Him and his agent probably thought they could hold out and get that max outta them. They were wrong. End of story.

 

[gho3st]

dude makin it rain already

 

[threattonature]

This didn't even have to be dealt with until at the all star break or after the season

Presti came out saying the trade had to be made when it was because teams wanted to be able to lock Harden up to an extension. After Octorber 31st they couldn't offer the 5 year extension anymore.

Also Harden was leaving regardless. Even in the interview Harden let it be know that he'd never be able to shine the way he thinks he can because he'd always be in Durant and Westbrook's shadow.

 

[Higher Tech]

Dog..an hour is a pretty long time to think about one thing

Yeah like what you want for dinner not a life impacting decision like this.

Exactly. All the preparation still might not ready him for the real deal. Signing that contract. Give him 12 hours to read it over, and figure out if that's what he really wanted to do. He's had to defer for 3 years already and watch the guys around him be all stars and get the acclaim. Now you're asking a 22 (?) year old dude to keep deferring, take less money, and be comfortable coming off the bench essentially in the prime of his career. You make the offer and say, "We need to know in an hour." That's heavy. You're literally deciding your fate.

What sucks is this; if Houston or OKC never wins a ship, people will say it's Hardens fault. If OKC wins a ship they'll say Harden was dumb for leaving, and praise the OKC front office. If Houston wins they'll say Harden did the right thing. It's damn near a lose lose for Harden.

I wish him the best, and I hope he balls out all season.

Young Sabo is the one that should have been traded Only man in the NBA that looks at a wide open Durant and "doesn't see him."

 

[Mic-Nificent]

James Harden & OKC needs to move on. no more speaking about each other.

That's easier said than done when these dumb ass reporters keep asking them these questions.

Keep in mind players HAVE to give these interviews and if they give the "no comment" or "I don't want to talk about that anymore" response a lot of these guys will just write about how they THINK a player feels about a situation.

 

[Kunty McPhuck]

Thats reasonable enough tbh, I've seen athletes moved on with even less time than that