Comments on: Bill Laimbeer waited for NBA coaching opportunities before going back to the WNBA

By: T Casey

T Casey — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 00:06:20 +0000

That’s a good point. Although, I’d argue that we played out best ball the past decade under the most in-your-face coach we had in Larry Brown. Also, there’s nothing wrong with an in-your-face coach so long as he commands the respect of his team. The greatest coach in the game right now, Greg Popovic (probably mis-spelled that), is also one of, if not the most, in-your-face coach(es) in the game.

As it stands, we’ve got a bunch of guys on this squad who are still either raw skill-wise or simply don’t know how/what it takes to win consistently. I’d wager that an in-your-face coach with a winning pedigree is more likely to get them on the right track than a coach who hasn’t proven he has what it takes to win at any professional level and is more likely to coddle his players then show them the tough love they may need.

By: City of Klompton

City of Klompton — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 17:02:35 +0000

In regards to the Harden deal… Typically, rule of thumb is the team mentioned in the headline got the better end of the deal. All headlines mention Houston, so my initial thought is Houston wins this trade. However, when I think about the situation Harden was in I have to wonder how good of a deal this was for OKC. It will be interesting to see what Harden is capable of doing w/o two other elite scorers on his team.

Harden is a talent. This cannot be denied, but let’s see what happens when he is expected to carry the load night in and night out without the help of two other “All-World” 1st teamers.

By: City of Klompton

City of Klompton — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 16:46:58 +0000

This must be sarcasm.

By: frankie d

frankie d — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 16:40:09 +0000

i basically agree with just about everything you said, with a couple of exceptions.
i think OKC ultimately gets the better deal if they are able to parlay the draft choices and possibly lamb into an elite player or quality players. considering their track record, i’d say that was pretty likely to happen.
also, lamb’s a rookie, but i loved what i saw of him in summer league. he has the look of a guy who could very possibly be an even better player than harden down the line. he may never be the same type of explosive scorer, but his all-around skills, especially his defense, may make him a more valuable player.
harden does one thing, even though he does it better than just about anyone in the league: he scores points in bunches when he gets hot. he’s a taller vinnie johnson with more range.
i also would not, unless absolutely necessary for other reasons, get rid of perkins. imho, it is not a coincidence that okc went from being a first round loser to a conference finalist and then a league finalist team once they got perkins. he provides a certain physical presence that is absolutely essential for that team, if it wants to compete at the higher levels in the league.
sure, the team often looks better when they swing ibaka to the 5 spot and move durant to the 4, leaving perkins on the bench, but without the ability to bring perkins into the game at certain times, and without his presence, okc is just the dallas team from the middle of the last decade.
i am always amazed when teams undervalue guys like perkins – like detroit did with rick mahorn after they won their first title – and it always comes back to bite them in the butt. it is no coincidence that boston has been trying to fill his hole since he left. is he overpaid? probably. but i’d rather overpay a guy like perkins than a scorer.
but i agree that the real solution to the harden controversy should have been to just pay the guy. they are trying to win now, and you don’t have that kind of window open for very long.
but this trade reminds me of the gasol to the lakers trade. (it’s a bit different because guys like pau are very unique also, much more difficult to find than scorers.) at the time it happened, almost everyone overlooked pau’s little brother. who would you rather have right now: pau or marc?
i think observers will look at this trade somewhat similarly.
in 4 years, the interesting question will be: who is a better player, harden or lamb? (and that doesn’t even factor in the first round choices. one of those picks is toronto’s and even though it is apparently lottery-protected, you have to imagine that such a pick is going to provide a chance at a decent player somewhere along the line. or that it will have decent trade value.)
so, bottom line, you are right, they should have just paid the guy his money, but i think we’ll only be able to evaluate the real impact of the trade 4-5 years down the line.

By: Vic

Vic — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 15:45:44 +0000

If there ever was a win/win situation, this was it.
Okc traded a non starting star for a starter and another star. J Lamb is going to be just as goof as J Harden, and a better defender. They both can fill Hardend role.
Plus they got two first round draft picks. Thats quite a haul.

Houston was too young and really had no identity.
Now they have a bonafide star and a leader who has been from the bottom of the league to the finals. All their young talent has something to grow into. They have a pg, an SG, the best backup pg in the league Machado, a solid center, and stable of super talented SFs and PFs to choose from. They are better off than most teams in the league.

By: tarsier

tarsier — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 15:23:19 +0000

In a vacuum, not a terrible trade. I still think Houston wins, but it’s not bad. However, the Thunder are contenders NOW. Martin can’t replicate what Harden did. And Lamb is a long shot to. But even if he does, it will be in a couple years. Rookie Harden was not the great player today’s Harden is.

They should have just paid Harden. They can afford some luxury tax. They’ve been making money hand over fist with their core on rookie deals the past couple seasons. If Harden’s contract would really be too burdensome on top of everything else, they could amnesty or trade Perkins.

But let’s say they really didn’t think he was worth a max deal. Then they should have played him this season, tried to win a title with him, let someone sign him to a max deal, match, and then trade him for a comparable package. Yeah, it probably wouldn’t have been quite as good as what they got. But they could have gotten every bit as much present value with just a bit less future value. When you are a contender now, the present is the priority over the future.

However, if I were Presti, I’d now get on the phone with the Magic and try to trade Lamb for Afflalo. The good thing about getting a rookie and draft picks for a contender is if they use them to upgrade present talent.

By: frankie d

frankie d — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 06:13:27 +0000

okc is not stupid.
they made out like bandits. i’m sure they will either keep the picks and parlay those picks into useful talent, or they will package them and trade them for useful talent. detroit really doesn’t have a lot that okc would want.
other than monroe and drummond.
i like harden, but basically he is just a wing scorer.
those guys are a dime a dozen in the nba.
now, don’t get me wrong…he is one, if not the best, of that type of player.
but his kind of player – an elite wing scorer – is probably the easiest kind of elite player to replace.
k-martin is certainly not in his league, but he can pick up some of the slack.
and jeremy lamb, just might be good enough to replace him, all by himself.
on top of that, 2 first rounders.
what a joke. a great trade for okc.

By: Reaction

Reaction — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 04:07:54 +0000

Off topic but since Thunder traded Harden to Houston… Pistons should try to work out a deal for the first rounders that the Thunder have now.. THINK of the FUTURE

By: frankie d

frankie d — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 03:57:42 +0000

agreed.
imho, barry would be a great coach. too bad he’ll probably never get his shot.

By: jerrific

jerrific — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 01:37:40 +0000

Players and coaches butting heads during practices and such seemed to be an issue with this team during the Curry and Kuester eras.