Thunder Trade James Harden To Rockets
MONDAY, 1:30pm: All the physicals and paperwork relating to the Harden trade have been completed, meaning the Rockets can now officially negotiate and sign an extension for Harden, reports Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). As Feigen notes, extension talks shouldn't drag on, since a max-salary offer is expected.
SUNDAY, 1:49pm: According to SI.com's Ben Golliver, Harden has indicated he will sign a maximum extension with the Rockets before Wednesday's deadline.
10:15am: Harden has expressed interest in the maximum-salary deal that the Rockets will offer him, Mark Berman of Fox 26 hears (Twitter link). Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle has no doubt Harden will sign the extension, calling it a "slam dunk" (Twitter link).
SATURDAY, 10:42pm: Wojnarowski adds that the Rockets, unlike the Thunder, are able to give Harden a five-year maximum extension. Under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, each team is allowed to designate one player to receive a five-year max extension, and the Thunder have already given one to Russell Westbrook. You can view a complete list of teams who have used their five-year extensions here.
10:20pm: Wojnarowski reports (Twitter links) that the Thunder's final offer to Harden was for between $53 and $54MM over four years, and the extension the Rockets will give him once the trade is completed will be worth $60MM over four years.
10:14pm: ESPN.com's Marc Stein reports that the Rockets plan to sign Harden to the maximum four-year contract extension he was seeking from the Thunder before Wednesday's deadline.
10:06pm: Wojnarowski has clarified the draft picks the Thunder will receive in the deal (Twitter links). Oklahoma City will receive 2013 first-round picks from the Rockets belonging to Dallas and Toronto, in addition to a 2013 second-round pick belonging to Charlotte.
10:02pm: Specifics of the picks the Thunder will receive from the Rockets are not clear, but Wojnarowski reports that they will be "significant." He adds that Thunder GM Sam Presti quickly decided to trade Harden after extension talks broke down. Earlier Saturday, Wojnarowski reported that Harden had rejected an offer of four years at $52MM from the Thunder but that the sides were continuing to negotiate.
9:47pm: Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski reports (all Twitter links) that the Oklahoma City Thunder have traded James Harden to the Houston Rockets along with Cole Aldrich, Lazar Hayward, and Daequan Cook in exchange for Jeremy Lamb, Kevin Martin, and future draft picks.
Odds & Ends: Harden, Lawson, Jazz, Beasley
The latest news and notes from around the NBA on Sunday night:
- Rockets coach Kevin McHale talked to the Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen about the addition of James Harden. McHale doesn't believe Harden will have trouble transitioning from the sixth-man role he played in Oklahoma City to a starting job in Houston.
- George Karl calls Ty Lawson's extension negotiations with the Nuggets a "distraction," according to Adrian Dater of the Denver Post.
- Bill Oram of the Salt Lake tribune writes that the Jazz have already developed chemistry, which the team believes will work to its benefit.
- Yahoo's Marc Spears writes that Michael Beasley is hoping to rehabilitate his public image in Phoenix this season.
Los Angeles Notes: Clippers, Harden, Hollins, Turiaf
The latest news and notes from Los Angeles on Sunday evening:
- FoxSports.com's Billy Witz writes that while the Clippers' roster is promising, there are many questions that will need to be answered by their performance.
- Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times talks to members of the Lakers to get their reactions to the James Harden trade.
- Andy Kamenetzky of ESPNLosAngeles.com has a column which examines the trade's impact on the Lakers' chances in the Western Conference playoff race.
- Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times examines the bond between new Clippers backup centers Ryan Hollins and Ronny Turiaf.
Cavaliers Offered Batum $52MM
According to a new report by the Oregonian's Joe Freeman, the Cleveland Cavaliers made Trail Blazers forward Nicolas Batum an offer of four years and $52MM when he was a restricted free agent this summer. That offer is significantly higher than the offer sheet Batum signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves, worth $46MM over four years. Portland matched that offer after it was signed.
In Freeman's article, Batum discussed the free-agency process, which was contentious at times between the Blazers and Timberwolves:
"The thing is, I wanted to challenge them," he says. "Because I'm European. And when people say, 'We love you,' they show you they love you. That's a stupid European, French thing. But it's true. After what happened in January, I wanted them to show me they loved me."
Sam Presti Discusses Harden Trade
The Oklahoma Cith Thunder made waves all around the NBA last night when they traded reigning Sixth Man of the Year James Harden to the Houston Rockets, along with Cole Aldrich, Daequan Cook, and Lazar Hayward, in exchange for Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb, and three draft picks. On Sunday, Thunder GM Sam Presti spoke to reporters about the move. Here's a transcript of some of his comments, courtesy of Yannis Koutroupis of HoopsWorld:
On the decision to trade Harden:
The culmination of this decision to move forward, we got to a point where we were pretty transparent, very direct as we are with all our players in this situation. As a fact, we reached a point where we had to make a decision, we made a final proposal on Friday morning that was unacceptable, we then came back to where we were beginning to execute a trade, initiation with another proposal. We were very transparent with James that if this was not acceptable, then we would have to move towards making the best decision for the franchise, given the fact that it was becoming a reality that more than likely, he would be signing elsewhere after the season. Once that reality was met, as we have in the past, this organization turned a page. We started to focus on what’s in the best interest to the program and focus on capitalizing on an opportunity that would help us both in the short term and also continue to strengthen the future of the Thunder organization and building this program in a sustainable fashion.
On Harden's reaction:
I value my relationship with James and I do with all the players that we have here, because once they walk through the doors of the Thunder, they’re going to leave an impact on the fabric of this program, one way or another. It’s been a great thing for us to watch James grow as a player and as a professional. It was a difficult situation because I didn’t think the day would come to the reality that it wasn’t going to work out and we weren’t going to be able to meet the expectations, but it doesn’t change how we feel about James Harden. We wish him the best and any relationships that he has here will live on, but once that was established we had to do what was best for the organization. In response to your question about were we able to talk to him, James and I have had several conversations over the years about things other than basketball, so I enjoyed a pretty good relationship with him and we did talk.
On the players the Thunder received:
I think about adding Jeremy and Kevin to this group and it’s exciting to me, it’s very exciting to me. I think those guys add to what it is we have in place and what we have in place is a group of very competitive people and last night, as I was wrapping up the end of the trade and the things that have to happen, I also looked out my window and Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka were in here, working individually with our coaching staff on separate baskets and I thought about that we were adding two qualities players to a group of guys who are really invested with what it is that we’re trying to do here and take a lot of pride with playing with the Thunder.
Wizards Waive Brian Cook, Shelvin Mack
The Washington Wizards have waived forward Brian Cook and guard Shelvin Mack, the team announced in a press release Sunday. The cuts bring their roster to 15 ahead of the regular season.
On Saturday, the Wizards waived Shavlik Randolph and Steven Gray to bring the roster to 17 players. The release of Mack and Cook would indicate that the final two spots on Washington's regular-season roster will be given to center Earl Barron and guard Jannero Pargo.
Mack was the 34th overall pick in the 2011 draft. Cook was traded to Washington as part of the trade that sent JaVale McGee to Denver at the 2011/12 trade deadline.
Magic Notes: Afflalo, Vucevic, Nelson, Turkoglu
Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel has posted several position-by-position breakdowns of the Orlando Magic's roster as the team gears up to start the season. Here are the highlights, as well as some other updates on the Magic from Robbins:
- Robbins writes that Arron Afflalo, whom the Magic acquired in the Dwight Howard trade, has brought a strong work ethic to the Magic.
- Robbins expects to see improvement from second-year center Nikola Vucevic, who was acquired from Philadelphia as part of the Howard trade.
- The newly re-signed Jameer Nelson is expected to bring steady veteran leadership to a young and inexperienced Magic locker room, Robbins writes.
- Robbins writes that Hedo Turkoglu must prove this season that he's worth keeping for 2013/14, as the final year of his contract is only partially guaranteed.
- Going into his second year with the Magic, Glen Davis is expected to be another positive veteran presence in the locker room, Robbins writes.
- Robbins also has an article on DeQuan Jones, an undrafted rookie who made Orlando's final regular-season roster.
- Robbins looks at other teams expected to compete with the Magic for a top lottery pick, pointing out that landing a top player in the draft is not something fans should take for granted.
Taj Gibson Discusses Extension Talks, Harden
Following Saturday night's blockbuster trade in which the Thunder sent James Harden to the Rockets, attention is turning to other players from the 2009 draft class who are eligible to receive contract extensions before the Oct. 31 deadline. One such player is Bulls forward Taj Gibson, who weighed in on his situation to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
Gibson, who has known Harden since the two were teenagers discussed differences between his extension talks and the ones that broke down between Harden and the Thunder:
"I know he didn't really want to leave that team," Gibson said. "But he has a new home in Houston. That's the business side of basketball.
"I'm getting tired being asked questions about (my extension) and people worrying about it. I just want to get back to playing basketball, get focused on the season and helping this team win games."
Johnson cites sources in the article which have Gibson and the Bulls around $8MM apart on a dollar figure for his possible extension, although he points out that that is not uncommon.
Central Notes: Pistons, Robinson, Pacers, Cavs
Here are the latest updates from around the Central Division on Saturday night:
- Brendan Savage of MLive.com writes that the Pistons have grown during the preseason and are ready for the challenges the regular season will bring.
- Terry Foster of the Detroit News talks to several Pistons players who believe the team will finish with above a .500 record in 2012/13.
- K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune writes that new Bulls signee Nate Robinson is working on his ballhandling and decreasing his turnovers during training camp.
- Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star writes that the Pacers are more confident in their bench this season than they were last year.
- Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer believes that the Cavaliers are headed in the right direction, even if they don't make the playoffs this season.
Lakers Notes: Howard, Kobe, Blake
A roundup of the latest news around the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night:
- Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times reports that Dwight Howard has been working hard this summer to improve his free-throw shooting.
- Bresnahan also reports that Kobe Bryant may miss the Lakers' Oct. 30 season opener against Dallas with lingering foot pain.
- Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News reports that Mike Brown is sticking with Steve Blake as his backup point guard, citing Blake's familiarity with the offense as his reason.