James Harden Traded to the Houston Rockets for Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb and Two 2013 1st Round Draft Picks
James Harden, the NBA’s best 6th man last year, has been traded from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Houston Rockets according to Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
In return for Harden, the Thunder acquired Kevin Martin, rookie Jeremy Lamb, and “future draft considerations.” [UPDATE: OKC got two 2013 first round draft picks from Houston. The picks are from Dallas and Toronto, two likely lottery teams. So basically, three 1st round draft picks, since Jeremy Lamb was a lottery pick in 2012.]
[UPDATE: The Dallas draft pick is protected until 2018.]
In addition to Harden, the Rockets acquired Cole Aldrich, Lazr Hayward and Daquan Cook. I’m going to guess not all those guys make the team.
Clearly the Thunder and Harden couldn’t come to an agreement on a long-term extension. This was an issue that was discussed before and after the Thunder signed Serge Ibaka to a 4-year, $48 million extension in August.
Houston’s backcourt is suddenly attractive: Jeremy Lin and James Harden. I wouldn’t be surprised if Harden finished in the top five in the NBA in scoring this season. The Rockets are young and don’t have much scoring inside.
The Thunder will once again be led by Durant and Westbrook, but having trigger-happy K-Mart come off the bench, plus potential-laden shooting guard Jeremy Lamb, keeps the Thunder as arguably the best team in the West (with the Lakers).

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34 Responses to “James Harden Traded to the Houston Rockets for Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb and Two 2013 1st Round Draft Picks”
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October 27th, 2012 at 10:59 PM
If this is true, the Rockets will have the only backcourt in the NBA where one guard can only go right, while the other can only go left.
October 27th, 2012 at 10:59 PM
You drunk, TBL?
October 27th, 2012 at 11:02 PM
“Thunder & Harden couldn’t agree to extension”. Good value for OKC, Harden good, yes, but not worth a max deal for OKC.
October 27th, 2012 at 11:10 PM
Damn
October 27th, 2012 at 11:12 PM
I thought this was a joke when I first saw it.
October 27th, 2012 at 11:14 PM
Who cares?
October 27th, 2012 at 11:15 PM
I think this is a win-win. Harden isn’t a max player and Presti knew it. You get good value from Martin for one year, a potentially very good bench/role player in Lamb, and a couple of good draft picks.
October 27th, 2012 at 11:15 PM
If Houston could land a legitimate PF, they could make some noise.
October 27th, 2012 at 11:16 PM
Good for Norte Dame.
October 27th, 2012 at 11:17 PM
So you’re saying that the Rockets offense is balanced?
October 27th, 2012 at 11:17 PM
Good move for OKC. They werent beating Miami this year and I’m not sure Harden would be the difference in beating LA. Their best move is to stay flexible and wait for other teams to get old. They’re still a really young team. And they still have a shot in the West.
October 27th, 2012 at 11:17 PM
a potentially very good bench/role player in Lamb
I could never root for him though. There was this chick I went to school with and they just have a striking resemblance of each other. It’s weird. Just like Harden’s beard. And his ‘stache is trash.
October 27th, 2012 at 11:18 PM
Cole Aldridge
I know you don’t care about copy-editing and it is a Saturday night and you did win on the ND money line, but come on. We bitch because we care. At least get names spelled correctly.
October 27th, 2012 at 11:18 PM
Bill Simmons
October 27th, 2012 at 11:20 PM
Funny to see you here KC. I seriously had typed and was about to submit “Now all we need is for KC Resident to show up and tell everyone that their team sucks, there’s no hope for their city, fuck them and goodnight”
October 27th, 2012 at 11:22 PM
ESPN going with their usual “Sources say this deal is done” so lazy in crediting non espn reporters. Wojnarowski is the best NBA info guy. Sorry he didn’t fall for your offer and get sucked into your uncreative vortex.
October 27th, 2012 at 11:23 PM
thanks, KC. yes, wild night.
October 27th, 2012 at 11:23 PM
The article I saw said it was reported on earlier by Yahoo. That was on ESPN.
October 27th, 2012 at 11:24 PM
Funny to see you here KC. I seriously had typed and was about to submit “Now all we need is for KC Resident to show up and tell everyone that their team sucks, there’s no hope for their city, fuck them and goodnight” Meth
While I think you are off, I laughed. And, I’m about ready for bed.
And it wasn’t everybody telling their team sucks meme. It was just KC fans that voted to give millions of dollars to the Chiefs and Royals.
October 27th, 2012 at 11:24 PM
Meth, on tv at least..
October 27th, 2012 at 11:26 PM
thanks, KC. yes, wild night.
Nice win on ND. Holy shit. There seems to be a bigger jam at the front of the BCS party this year. Bama, KSU, ND, Oregon. Sorry, Florida.
October 27th, 2012 at 11:27 PM
I was wrong about ND. Congrats to Brian Kelley.
October 27th, 2012 at 11:30 PM
Definitely not a ND fan but I was convinced after the Michigan State win. Still have never met a grad from there who wasn’t a douche
October 27th, 2012 at 11:32 PM
Yeah, I’ll say it. I was wrong about ND. Good team.
October 27th, 2012 at 11:33 PM
SHIT!!!! I had under 5 on first “who cares” comment. Season change, leaves turn color, but complaining about NBA never goes out of style in TBListan.
October 28th, 2012 at 12:04 AM
Nah, Lin really isn’t much more than a ticket seller at this point. Team’s are quickly figuring him out and how to turn him over. Young team, needs veterans and will spend a lot of this season trying to find an identity. Plus look at the top 5 scoring leaders from last year, all had a good supporting cast, and i dont see that for Harden with the current Rockets.
This team was built around trying to get Howard not Harden, I bet they’ll still be making moves.
October 28th, 2012 at 12:36 AM
Me too. Harden might be a max player in a theoretical sense (i.e. for a team like Houston), but not for OKC right now.
I know you (and also everyone) doesn’t really care, but he also misspelled these two names:
October 28th, 2012 at 1:12 AM
He went 0/3 on that part. That’s actually pretty impressive.
October 28th, 2012 at 2:21 AM
Funniest post ever.
October 28th, 2012 at 2:25 AM
Yep, didn’t realize until later the original typo was in that part.
Awesome
October 28th, 2012 at 9:07 AM
Despite generally being putrid, Grantland had a nice piece on why OKC shouldn’t trade Harden in their 2012-13 preview. They had some options on their payroll, including an amnesty of Perkins later on. Their ownership obviously raked in the profits during the recent years and saved none for these championship contention years. Bitched out, frankly.
Bottom line, if OKC wins a title, it was and still will be on Durant and Westbrook going HAM and not relying on this 3rd wheel.
Also, HOU doesnt even have Harden under contract. I presume there is a backroom agreement in place but if they dont re-sign him this is the worst trade of all time.
October 28th, 2012 at 9:08 AM
On the cold light of day, this feels like a win for Presti and the Thunder. They couldn’t afford to keep Harden if he was looking for close to max money. Trading him to a team that isn’t anywhere near ready to challenge them for division/conference supremacy won’t hurt them. Maybe Martin is just as good coming off the bench and maybe Lamb becomes their next Sixth Man and maybe those 2 draft picks turn into something.
I’d be more concerned about Houston, who just committed one of the cardinal sins of the salary-cap-era NBA: never pay superstar money for anyone who isn’t a superstar. Harden is really good and he’s really popular, but he’s never been the guy. The Rockets, by virtue of their youth and of the massive deal he’ll sign soon, are now his — not Lin’s. Whether it’s Scottie Pippen in Portland or Joe Johnson in Atlanta, history shows this play doesn’t work out.
But at least Morey got his man. And he FINALLY got rid of Kevin Martin.
October 28th, 2012 at 9:22 AM
So can we fast forward to the Heat-Lakers final?..wake me in June
October 28th, 2012 at 9:23 AM
Jason,congrats on the big win by the Irish.I have been wrong on them all yeat.They are for real….wish we had the 4 team playoff starting this year.