Melissa Phillip /Chronicle
A source familiar with the situation feels James Harden made the correct move to depart the Thunder, because the 6th Man of the Year felt he was worth a max contract and OKC wasn’t willing to cough up the money.“This is cutthroat business and winning isn’t guaranteed,” the source stated via text. “Playing with Durant and Westbrook made things a lot easier which is why he needed to take advantage of his value NOW, because he may never be at this level again.”
Harden was traded late Saturday night to the Houston Rockets along with Cole Aldrich, Daequan Cook and Lazar Hayward for Kevin Martin and Jeremy Lamb, two first-round picks and a second-round pick.
The trade was consummated after the Thunder offered Harden $4.5 million less than the max deal Harden wanted with Wednesday’s deadline to extend his deal or allow him to become a restricted free agent next July looming.
The Rockets are expected to sign Harden, who is entering the last season of his rookie deal, to a max 5-year deal worth nearly $80 million before the deadline.
The way the Rockets are constructed, it would seem the former Arizona State Sun Devil will get ample opportunities to improve on his 2011-12 averages of 16.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.0 steals in 31.4 minutes off of the Thunder’s bench and establish himself as their franchise player.
Personally, Harden will have to prove he is worth a max deal, because I feel max players are those that fans buy season tickets to see. Surpassing his numbers from last season shouldn’t be an issue; the issue is whether or not Harden can make his teammates better as the franchise player.
The productivity of his new supporting cast is the key to the Rockets winning and Harden must display he’s the catalyst for most of that productivity.
Harden was the Thunder’s best pure point guard last season, using the screen and roll to get to the rim and score or kick it to All-Stars Westbrook and Durant. His 57.9% two-point shooting was 3rd among guards, trailing only Manu Ginobili and Steve Nash, but has to prove that he can create high percentage shots for his supporting cast, because Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler aren’t walking through those arena doors anytime soon.
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