By now you’ve probably heard that the Thunder dealt last season’s NBA Sixth Man of the Year, James Harden, to the Rockets for three draft picks, rookie Jeremy Lamb, and guard Kevin Martin. It’s a bold move for rebuilding Houston, now banking on Harden becoming a franchise cornerstone, and a bit of a questionable one for the Thunder, who will still battle for a title this season, but will find that more difficult without Harden. The move comes after the Thunder
Wow, a true blockbuster trade. James Harden is a Houston Rocket. I’m happy to let experienced NBA journalist Chris Bernucca explain why (short version: money) and declare a real-life winner, but in the world of fantasy hoops, Harden just got even better. No longer a sixth man and third banana, he’s the focal point. Minutes will increase from 31 last year to at least 35, while his production in the counting stats should rise accordingly. Kevin Martin will join the Oklahoma
The Oklahoma City Thunder traded guard James Harden to the Houston Rockets on Saturday night, four days before the deadline for a contract extension. Harden was sent to the Rockets with center Cole Aldrich, forward Lazar Hayward and guard Daequan Cook. The Thunder received guards Kevin Martin and Jeremy Lamb, two first-round picks and a second-round pick. Oklahoma City received a top-three-protected 2013 first-round pick that Houston acquired from Toronto for Kyle Lowry, a 2013 first-round pick originally belonging to Dallas (top
The last few days before NBA teams have to get down to a 15-man roster probably mean a lot to the players, but they rarely are given a whole lot of attention by all but the most die-hard NBA fans. Still, they can be fun to pay attention to, especially for people who are big fans of the college game and want to keep track of some former college stars in the pros. So the recent news that the Blazers were
Here are this morning’s top NBA news stories: “Memphis Grizzlies sale to be voted on by NBA Board of Governors on Thursday,” by Marc Stein from ESPN.com “Is Luis Scola Phoenix’s X-Factor,” by Bill Ingram from HoopsWorld “Expect Warriors to go small early in season,” by Matt Steinmetz from CSNBayArea.com “Oklahoma City’s James Harden a hot ticket,” by Paul Coro from the Arizona Republic “The differences between Dwight Howard and Andrew Bynum are plain to see,” by Mike Bresnahan from the Los Angeles Times “Pierce: ‘it would be difficult’ to see
After playing a vital role in the Olympics for Team USA, gold medalist Kevin Love had high expectations for the Timberwolves and their revamped roster for the upcoming season. Unfortunately for him and the team, those expectations took a major hit on Wednesday afternoon when Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports tweeted and broke the news that Love has suffered a broken hand. Chris Bernucca has the details of the situation. This really is a tough break for a franchise finally hoping
(This is another in a series of 30 guest columns that will run in October, when optimism reigns supreme across the NBA. The theme will be “Five Reasons to Feel Positive About … ” We encourage you to follow the authors on Twitter and visit their sites. – CS) The Oklahoma City Thunder were one of the league’s most talked-about teams last season, and it seemed that they were destined to meet with the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. It
Here are this morning’s top NBA news stories: “Harden expects extension by deadline,” by Susan Bible from HoopsWorld “Utah Jazz: Derrick Favors key in loaded frontcourt as Utah opens camp,” by Bill Oram from the Salt Lake Tribune “Charlotte Bobcats pondering Gerald Henderson’s contract extension,” by Rick Bonnell from the Charlotte Observer “Rasheed Wallace, New York Knicks have not yet agreed to terms,” by Marc Berman from the New York Post “‘Spur for life’ star emphasizes winning over 54 percent pay cut,” by Jeff McDonald from the San Antonio Express-News “Kobe