Kelly Sugino: I think it's good for both teams if OKC wasn't going to sign him...Still think it puts them back a little this year. Dork Elvis finally wins.
Jordan Ikeda: I don't know if it's a win, but a Lin/Harden backcourt could be very intriguing. They cover for each other's weaknesses in many ways. But Harden's not a max player. He doesn't want to be "The Man."
KS: Somewhat interchangeable...They can sign one more.
JI: I kinda think he's an idiot. He was quibbling over $2.5 million a season. Now, he's on a rebuilding team that would need a miracle to make the playoffs.
KS: Idk, I like his game...And idk, that's kinda a lot of money.
JI: Really? $13.5 versus $15.8?
KS: We can say that now, but yeah, it is a lot of money. Especially when you consider taxes and the earning arc of a professional athlete.
JI: If i'm making millions of dollars, I think $2.5 million a season is easily worth the continued shot at a championship every year. Harden is gonna get raped as the go to guy early on. I mean, when has he ever faced double teams? Arizona State.
KS: Like triple teams.
JI: Which prompted him to call Presti and tell him he didn't want to be a number one option. Lin is smooth sailing right now. Most of the pressure is off of him. He can just be a player. All of the pressure's on Harden now.
KS: But, at the same time, he never forced anything, he set up his teammates, and when he needed to make plays, he did.
JI: He never forced anything because he didn't have to. He could just toss it to Westbrook or Durant.
KS: I always have liked Harden's game.
JI: You have a harden for Harden. I'm a fan of his game too, but not at $16 million a season. I understand why Houston overpaid for him, but it doesn't mean I have to like it. I think he'll average the same amount of points...like 16, and probably up his assists to 5-6. But his percentages will plummet across the board. Like 40 percent from the field.
KS: I don't know if it will be that severe. He's one of those guys that sees the game well and can effect the game without necessarily scoring.
JI: You can say all that in a vacuum, but it's far easier to make the assist pass off of single coverage after someone else has already drawn the double. Ask Pau Gasol.
KS: He doesn't really take bad shots...I think it will drop, but he will still be one of the more efficient players.
JI: The Rox have young talent. We're both high on Parsons, and Montiejunas can put the ball in the hole. Terrence Jones looks like a keeper. But who's going to score on this team? They just traded away the only guy on the squad who is a proven 20-point scorer. Harden has to score. He's going to have to take bad shots as this team's highest paid, best player.
KS: Being the best player doesn't mean taking bad shots. Ask Tyreke Evans.
JI: Tyreke Evans is not the highest paid player, nor is he the best player on his team.
KS: He was supposed to be, but because he forces things too often, he won't be.
JI: Evans isn't the Kings franchise player because he forces things. He's not the franchise player because he can't shoot. If he could shoot, nobody would care if he forced things. But he can't shoot, and he can't defend (or chooses not to), AND he forces things.
KS: Maybe, I just think Harden let's the game come to him.
JI: I agree. He does. But, my point is he no longer has that luxury. If he "let's it come to him now" he'll average 7 points a game because he's going to be constantly double teamed.
KS: That's not how it was at ASU. He was really their only guy, but still only averaged in the teens. And he was still the best player in the PAC-10.
JI: Once upon a time, Adam Morrison was the best player in college...
KS: They are opposite players...Morrison forced things...And I never thought he was the "best" player.
JI: No, the voters who vote on awards like "top player in the Pac-10" did.
KS: Harden is smart, and makes the best out of his situation on the court.
JI: I get that. I really do. And that's why he's hyper efficient and an ideal 2nd or 3rd banana. But as the main guy, he's going to have to make due with only bad situations.
KS: He's a good decision maker, and will mesh with whoever they get.
JI: I'm skeptical. I like their future propositions, especially if money isn't an issue with their new TV deal but, Harden isn't a max guy. I mean, he's making as much as Lebron and D-Wade now. This goes back to what we were talking about with Eric Gordon who we both agree isn't a max dude either. But, at the very least, Gordon has proven that he can carry a squad offensively and he wants to. Harden, by all indications including how "devastated" he was after finding out he had gotten traded, is not that guy...yet.
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