Monday, October 29th, 2012 at 10:15 am  |  100 responses

James Harden Was Reportedly Devastated By Trade


He may be ready to become the proverbial Man in Houston, but when the trade was announced, James Harden was not the happiest camper in the world. Reports The Oklahoman: “James Harden boarded an airplane Sunday morning, bound for Houston. He was ‘devastated,’ said someone who knows the Bearded One. Harden and his family both. Said Harden was stunned that the Thunder actually traded him to the Rockets. He didn’t believe the Thunder would do it. But Sam Presti told him. Presti’s lips now are sealed, but sources from both parties said that the Thunder appealed one final time to Harden on Friday. Upped its offer to $53 million over four years but told Harden if he didn’t take it, he would be traded to Houston. Presti didn’t use that as a warning. He used it as a plea. He desperately wanted to keep Harden, but this was the last best offer. And the Thunder gave Harden an hour to accept. It wasn’t that Presti was trying to play hardball, necessarily. He was on the clock. That deal with the Rockets wouldn’t last forever; Houston wanted Harden early enough to sign him to a contract extension by the Halloween deadline. Presti had decided that if Harden wouldn’t sign an extension with OKC, a preseason deal offered the Thunder its best leverage. Harden, through his agent, said he needed three days. Presti stood firm on one hour. And 60 minutes later, Presti called the Rockets and consummated a rare NBA October blockbuster trade. [...] ‘It happened so fast, it happened very fast,’ Harden said, a point Presti might dispute, since talks started in July. ‘But this is the position I’m in now,’ Harden said. ‘Just have to make the best of it.’”

  • Add a Comment
  • Share
  • RSS

Tags: , , ,

Newer Comments →
  • Caboose

    Sounds simple, Harden wanted more money, OKC couldn’t give it to him. If you really wanted to stay with the Thunder, you could have accepted pretty close to a max deal instead of gunning for the title of “max player.”

  • danpowers

    cosign you. the offer was fair, he has no reason to complain

  • http://twitter.com/Jzakoni Verified Account

    not an OKC fan. but I’m just disappointed by the trade. OKC had a one of a kind trio. and Harden was probably the most talented X-factor in the league.

  • Dagger

    I think he and his agent thought the Thunder were bluffing. To be fair, I don’t know why the Thunder didn’t negotiate for a couple more days at least.

  • http://twitter.com/_DFrance DFrance

    I think this is a direct result of players like Dwight and Melo holding these team hostage. The Thunder decided that they were gonna be the ones in control and made a move that eliminates all that unnecessary drama.

  • bike

    53 million/fours years for a sixth man on a championship-caliber team doesn’t sound bad at all.

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    No sympathy for him. Should have taken the deal that was equal to what he was worth. $55 million is more than enough. If anyone has a right to be upset at all, it’s Durant and Westbrook along with the rest of last year’s team who thought they had a great thing going only to find out that Harden was more concerned with money than winning. Presti is a smart man.

  • Dagger

    To be fair, it’s a bit unrealistic to criticize a rich player for not accepting less money while ignoring the fact that a super rich owner was unwilling to part with that same money.

  • http://twitter.com/_DFrance DFrance

    Especially how he choked in the playoffs last season, he owed OKC a favor. lol

  • russian guy

    So Harden is the bad guy for taking more money (which is in fact the right business move going forward),but the ownership gets a break.OKC was playing a team consisting of 3 of the best 25 players in the NBA on rookie contracts.They made enough profit out of him.There is no reason at all why James Harden should feel any guilt.

  • Dymez

    This is interesting news. There’s really no good guy or bad guy here, though it sounds like Harden’s PR team is trying make Presti look like the man with the iron fist in this whole situation. If I run a team and I have the offer that the Rockets gave on the table, and I have a short amount of time to accept it, best believe you have an even shorter amount of time to accept the deal I’m offering you. Harden’s agent tried to get those “3 days” knowing damn well he would get the leverage if Presti waited that long. Harden gambled and he lost — just chalk it up as one.

  • russian guy

    Oh and what he is ‘worth’ is determined by the market and the market was the max deal.

  • http://twitter.com/Jzakoni Verified Account

    can’t be mad at either side

  • spit hot fiyah

    presti has cojones. harden might look back at this and regret it for the rest of his career. durant and westbrook settled for the less than max in order to give the roster flexibility

  • http://twitter.com/Jzakoni Verified Account

    exactly. trying to play kings ransom is bullshit

  • http://twitter.com/stepfdelaghetto Stepfan Raiford

    Presti pulled a Utah Jazz/get Deron Williams out of here before he becomes a distraction.

  • Caboose

    OKC didn’t not offer a max because of a thrifty owner, they just would lose all financial flexibility. They didn’t offer a max contract because 1. he’s not a max player, and 2. the Thunder would annihilate their ability to sign players outside Harden, Russ, Durant, and Serge.

  • Caboose

    Shout out to Manu

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    There are no bad guys here. Just not the best decision for Harden if he wants to win.

  • shockexchange

    That makes Harden, along with Lin, the second player “devastated” about being traded to Houston.

  • http://www.facebook.com/blong33 Brad Long

    Dude was already talking about possibly playing for the Suns last year. This was a BOSS move by Sam Presti. Jeremy Lamb AND Kevin Martin?!?!? J-Lamb just might be a star himself eventually.

  • http://www.facebook.com/blong33 Brad Long

    Lin wasn’t traded to Houston, he signed there.

  • justin05

    Lol can you read? BamN just said no bad guys here. It wasn’t the best decision for Harden, he should have known that he might be traded if he didn’t accept the offer. Especially an offer as handsome as the one he was given. Now he gets more attention and higher stats but he won’t compete for a championship in years, if ever. Houston just spent a lot of money on Lin and Harden and it will come back to bite them.

  • http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

    they still can’t sign anyone. it’s not like they gained cap space by trading Harden. they essentially took back just as much as they would have been paying him in Martin & Lamb.

  • justin05

    Super rich owners? There is still a salary cap and luxury taxes. OkC has prided themselves on building a championship caliber team in a small market. Westbrook even took less money so that the core could stay together. Harden just wanted to be the man. It’s too bad that basketball isn’t enough for these guyys to show up. Always trying to reach a higher status…

  • justin05

    Lin wasn’t traded to Houston. They signed him for too much money also

  • justin05

    They could have waited a few weeks to see what was out on the market once certain teams dont live up to potential. Harden didn’t have to get traded until the deadline. Presti pulled the trigger based more off emotion than logic.

  • Dagger

    He choked in the Finals . . . he was great in the other rounds.

  • shockexchange

    Fair point. He wasn’t traded, but he was described as “devastated” about playing for Houston and not the Knicks.

  • phil

    James harden knew he was going to the rockets if he did not agree to the deal, he knew the thunder couldn’t offer him the max and he still didn’t accept 14 mill a year.

    He was stunned huh? He was devastated huh? Sounds like ny knicks sour grapes just like with lin.

  • M Cho

    the gap was less than 5 mil. And after taxes it would be what? Less than 2.5 mil? Chump change for millionaire athletes. Shoulda taken the deal and gone to the finals again this year.

  • Clos1881

    Presti did kind of put the gun to his head by saying you have a hour that’s not a lot of time to make a life decision.

  • roscoe

    it’s understandable considering the average waist line of HOU locals is 43.5 inches.

  • Caboose

    Kevin Martin is expiring. Like I said, I think they’re targeting a win in 2014, and if they can best LA and Miami this year, that’s gravy

  • http://twitter.com/_DFrance DFrance

    The Houston deal might not have been on the table in a few weeks. Harden knew a decision had to be made on his future this season and I’m sure he’s been thinking about it. Its not like he was totally blindsided.

  • sef

    harden would’ve been constantly thinking about this for the last few months non-stop… when there is an offer on the table you have to make succinct decisions based off pre-made decisions

  • http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

    they already have $55M set for 2014. It’s not like they will have significant cap space man. And they aren’t attracting any big free agents to Oklahoma City anyway. Basically, they just traded away the best player they could have possibly had on their roster in the next 5 years unless you really think the possible lottery pick they picked up will turn into a better player than Harden….which would be like counting on a shooting star at a specific time without knowing anything about the universe.
    .
    Essentially the Thunder just gave up any chance they had at a title, for a chance at maybe being able to get back their in a couple years? Really? When has giving up a chance to win now for the chance to possibly win later EVER worked out for anyone?

  • http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

    he can get more money. it’s not complaining, and it’s not wrong to want the highest value for your services. And he is getting $78M over 5 years rather than $55M over 4. He would have been stupid to take the OKC deal just to win, to be honest. He’s not a marquee guy who makes a ton of money off of endorsements. He probably doesn’t make half a million dollars a year in endorsements.

  • http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

    And the difference in income was $55M over 4 years, compared to $78M over 5. It’s not “pretty close” to a max deal. That’s a lot of f*cking money.

  • shutup

    You don’t know what you got till its gone……………..just a case were a person over values himself, then gets hit with a reality bomb.

  • danpowers

    youre talking to somebody who will maybe make one or one and a half million during his whole life while working his butt off. so i dont know what to say about this lol

  • shutup

    Not saying he was a bad guy, but the difference roughly translates to 1.5 million a year, I’m pretty sure later in his career he will gladly sacrifice that small amount to be a contender again. Once again money issues destroy what could have been a great team. As a Spurs fan this makes me appreciate Manu even more.

  • shutup

    Word.

  • shutup

    Don’t negotiate with terrorists, and that beard definitely had him on the watch list

  • http://twitter.com/CdubSooner00 cw

    couldn’t say it better myself. how do you not know? if you didn’t know, you need remedial math classes and/or a better/less greedy agent!!! agent not getting any blame here but you can bet he wasn’t helping the thunder’s cause.

  • http://twitter.com/CdubSooner00 cw

    presti made the right decision. he could see the train coming down the tracks. its simple, do it now and get max value, wait until march and get bread crumbs, or wait until next summer and get NOTHING. not a hard choice, IMO. Harden had plenty of time. he made his choice months ago.

  • http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

    you need to stop comparing yourself to NBA players first of all…..you gotta consider lifestyle, and how comfortable of a life you live compared to them. Not saying they actually “need” all this extra money, but to live the life they want to live past their playing days, they have to make as much money as possible…..plus the whole, planning for the future, and kids are expensive…can’t blame a guy for getting everything he can for his services. It’s what any of us would do in any other career.

  • http://twitter.com/CdubSooner00 cw

    sad but true coming from a HUGE thunder fan since the day they came to OKC. gonna miss da Beard.

  • SlimeCity

    ummmmm sorry to burst your bubble but durant and westbrook both have max contracts. seems like this is the most popular myth surrounding the harden trade.

  • russian guy

    Not considering the financial aspect,but to all those who say how Harden could walk away and ‘destroy’ a contender:What happened to the ‘players should not try to play with their rivals,but beat them (Lebron James e.g.)’ stuff?Why not respecting a 23 year old man who is trying to be a franchise player,live up to his contract and be a star in this league,even if Harden wanted to stay but played his cards wrong?

Newer Comments →
Advertisement