[tjmartin23Participant]

 I think K Mart should start. A 20 ppg scorer who doesn’t need the ball in his hands. Also, he is no where near the playmaker Harden is so he will not be able to set up guys like Harden did with the second unit, or starters for that matter. 

[ilike.panochasParticipant]

He needs to come off the bench. You will be wasting Thabo’s defensive lock down ability by bringing him off the bench to guard 2nd unit players. Thabo started all year last season and it works, so why change anything, they just ran into a Heat team that wanted it more and Harden’s inability to show up during the finals. Otherwise, I still see them being just as good as last season.

[Lebron’s HairlineParticipant]

The bench, but I expect him to come in during crunchtime, as martin has a knack for drawing fouls, making freethrows, and hitting the open jumper. He also has a solid midrange game unlike harden.

[LipstickParticipant]

I agree with buckets and mess. There’s no point in having a defensive specialist come off the bench to guard a team’s best scorer…..who comes off the bench. Thabo will start, but Martin will finish for reasons buckets mentioned. Ignoring last season, the guy can get to the line and draw fouls. He’s one of the worst defenders in the league though which makes him a nice fit off the bench.

[TallmanNYCParticipant]

 Bench. 

It doesn’t matter. I don’t know if Harden could have repeated his performance from last year, this year. But without Harden, OKC needs Westbrook to reach a truly new level. We saw flashes of a new level in the final and the Olympics. And the athleticism is there as well as a confident attitude. 

But seriously, OKC just lost one of the most efficient scorers in the league. I doubt they can replace it with Martin and if they don’t replace it with Westbrook and Durrant then we are talking first or second round exit in the playoffs. 

[LipstickParticipant]

First or second round playoff exit? Please. It’s not like they traded for Kwame Brown. They have a 20-point scorer and an intriguing rookie coming off the bench for them now and they’re locked in long-term.

Biggest winner here: Perk….for now.

[omphalosParticipant]

 I think Martin starts eventually, but with the tendency for teams to play small-ball I can see Thabo and Martin in the starting lineup against certain teams, with Durant sliding to the PF.

[aarondsonixfanParticipant]

 I promise you they will not change their starting lineup. Ever since James Harden was a rookie, everyone thought that he should be the starting 2, but it always was Thabo starting for locking up the opposing teams’ best player. Thabo is going to need to start, especially against the Lakers. He is the only one who can guard Kobe 1 on 1. Kevin Martin will be a big punch off the bench, and now both PJ3 and Jeremy Lamb will have opportunites to play significant minutes off the bench now that both Harden and Daequan Cook are gone. 

Another thing that I feel is great about this trade for the Thunder is that instead of having 3 primary scorers, they now have about 6 who can score on a high level in my opinion. KD, Westbrook, Ibaka, Kevin Martin, PJ3 and Lamb. 

On Houston’s side, I feel like they got everything they needed to make it to the playoffs. They have a "star" in Harden, they have a solid PG in Lin, a lot of depth as now they have Aldrich who can back up Asik at the 5, a really good shooter in Cook, as well as solid rookies in T. Jones and "Monte". Will they go out of the first round? Probably not, but they have something to build off of now

Overall, I think it was a solid trade for both teams. I feel like people will think that OKC lost this trade as they got rid of a BIG name, but they added a lot of depth. Plus, if Orlando and Dallas don’t do well this season, they could potentially have 2 lottery picks (4th-14) in next years draft, plus their first round pick and 2 second round picks. 

[omphalosParticipant]

If you think Houston are making the playoffs this season you’re kidding yourself. They are far too young to succeed in a Western Conference which is about 10 teams deep with playoff calibre squads. In the East, sure, but not in the West.

Also, PJ3 is not a high-level scorer. He isn’t now, nor has he ever been more than a skilled tease who should be so much more. He averaged under 20ppg in high school and college, but he’s still great value for a late first-rounder.

[TRC1991Participant]

Serge Ibaka proved this offseason that his offensive game has expanded enough to maybe average around 13-14 points per game…OKC made a nice move, Jeremy Lamb could turn out quite nice for them + dont forget about those 2 1st round picks they snatched!

[XYRYXParticipant]

 What is the exact situation with the picks from houston?

Houston also has the right to the Raptors pick in 2013.

I’m liking the okc move more and more.

[220Participant]

The Thunder got this years first round pick from the Raptors (which is guaranteed to be a lottery pick..if its outside the lottery the Thunder won’t get it until it’s in the lottery) and the Mavericks first round pick (top 20 protected until 2017) which the Rockets got from the Lakers in the Derek Fisher and Jordan Hill trade.

I don’t see how this trade is bad for the Thunder unless the hurt feelings or losing Harden cripple the team emotionally from playing (think Doug Christie when he couldn’t compete after being dealt from the Kings to the Magic). I highly doubt that happens.

No offense meant to James Harden, but I think a lot of guys would look great as the third offensive option behind Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. I don’t know if Kevin Martin’s numbers will go up but his shooting precentage certainly should. The Thunder should also have a healthy Eric Maynor back to be the playmaker off the bench so that will ease the loss of Harden’s playmaking abilities.

The Rockets somewhat overpaid for James Harden in my opinion depending on how those draft picks fall. I would laugh nonstop if the Raptors pick ends up landing the Thunder a top 3 pick in this years draft. If the Raptors miss the playoffs it could happen. Cole Aldrich finally cracked the rotation in OKC only to get dealt to Houston. He should benefit from playing for Kevin Mchale.

[omphalosParticipant]

The Toronto pick will only go to OKC if it’s in the 4-14 range, no lower or higher.

[220Participant]

This season thats true, it will be unprotected by 2018. I misspoke regarding it being top 3 this year.

[CynthiaParticipant]

Also don’t forget the second round pick they got was the Bobcats, so it will be almost like 3 first round picks. There’s usually still decent quality in the early 2nd round. Unless it’s just a shallow draft.

[HitsterParticipant]

Kevin Martin would be like for like with Harden in the Thunder’s roster in my opinion so he’d be used as a bench scoring option. Harden ironically often never got onto about 9th or 10th man but played his role from great affect there. If the Thunder get Maynor back then he can help create for Martin and the 2nd unit and we will probably see Lamb and Martin himself doing some ball carrying.

The Thunder have nice smallball options and with Martin it gives them another veteran on the bench alongside Collinson so they can put an experienced line up in tight games if needed and it allows them to go smallball if they need to chase games or players get into foul trouble.

PJ III will be interesting to see how he progresses as his athleticism could be very useful for the 2nd unit and create a few mismatches at SF if needed.

[Author]

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