Harden turns down $52m – traded to Rockets

The Oklahoma City Thunder, 2011-12 NBA Finals Runner-up, lost hope in working out a contract extension with shooting guard James Harden and sent him and three others to the Houston Rockets in exchange for two players and three high draft picks on Saturday. With the trade deadline quickly approaching, the Thunder did what they had to do before losing Harden to Free Agency in July of 2013.

Reports were coming out of Oklahoma that the Thunder had offered Harden a four-year, $52 million extension that would take effect at the end of the 2012-13 season, but that the 2011-12 NBA Sixth Man of the Year rejected the offer. It’s been speculated that the magic number for Harden is $60 million. When the deal fell through on Saturday, the Thunder started calling known interested parties and found the Rockets willing to work with them to cut a deal. The biggest issue for the Thunder is staying as close to the new luxury tax threshold and to avoid paying the increased fees that were established under the new collective bargaining agreement. Houston is still under the same Oct. 31st deadline to get a deal in place with Harden or he’ll be declared a free agent in July of 2013.

Details of the Thunder – Rockets deal:

Thunder Gets:

2 – First Round Draft Picks
1 – Second Round Draft Pick
Kevin Martin (201 cm, Western Carolina’04) – Guard – Averaged 23.3 points per game over three seasons at W. Carolina and has averaged 18.4 points per game (475 career games) in the NBA with Sacramento, Toronto, and Houston. Was the 26th pick overall in the 2004 NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings.
Jeremy Lamb (195 cm, Connecticut’12) – Guard/Forward – Averaged 17.7 ppg his senior year at UConn last year. Was selected to the all-tournament team at the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championships. Was the 12th pick overall in the 2012 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets.

Houston Gets:
James Harden (196 cm, Arizona State’09) – Guard – Averaged 20.1 points per game for Arizona State as a senior, was named 1st Team All American. 3rd pick overall in 2009 NBA Draft by OK Thunder. Averaging 12.7 points per game over three NBA seasons, 16.8 ppg in 62 games during the 2011-12 season. Averaged 16.3 ppg during 2011-12 NBA Playoffs over 20 games.
Cole Aldrich (211 cm, Kansas’10) – Center – Averaged 14.9 ppg and 11.1 rpg as a junior at Kansas, 9.4 ppg and 7.7 rpg in three year career. Holds career Big 12 blocks record of 253. 11th pick overall by New Orleans in 2010 NBA draft. Limited playing time with the Thunder (7.7 minutes per game), averaging 1.7 points per game over two seasons.
Daequan Cook (196 cm, Ohio State’07) – Guard – Averaged 9.8 ppg in 39 games in one season at Ohio State. 21st pick overall in 2007 NBA Draft by Philadelphia 76ers (20 yrs old). Averaging 7.1 ppg over five NBA seasons, three with Miami (08-10), two with OKC (11-12). Played 57 games for OKC in 2011-12, averaging 19.9 minutes per game.
Lazar Hayward (198 cm, Marquette’10) – Forward – Averaged 13.5 points per game for Marquette over four seasons, 18.1 ppg as a senior. 30th pick overall in 2010 NBA Draft by the Washington Wizards. Averaging 2.9 ppg on 8.2 minutes per game over 68 career games in two seasons. Played for the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2010-11 and the OKC Thunder in 2011-12.