By now we all know that making fun of the Bleacher Report's work is like shooting fish in a barrel. They pry on unintelligent sports fans who are too dumb to realize that what they're reading has zero context and then feed off the page views their slideshow style format produces. With over seven thousand unpaid contributors, you'd be hard pressed to find an idiot you went to school with, or neighbor down the street, who hasn't been published on this sorry excuse for a sports site. This weeks example of their ineptitude comes via Sam Quinn's piece on why the Oklahoma City Thunder should trade James Harden for Bradley Beal. Let's see what the "world's fourth largest sports media site" has to say about this shall we?
ESPN has reported that the Thunder have considered trying to move up in the draft to select Florida shooting guard Bradley Beal. Unfortunately for them, such a move would undoubtedly cost them star sixth-man James Harden. Before you go shooting down such a trade, at least take a moment to consider a few things.
One….Two….Okay, I took a moment. Still not buying it.
First of all, under the current rookie-salary scale, as the No. 2 pick, Beal would make approximately $16 million over the next four years. Assuming Harden gets the maximum contract he deserves, Harden would earn over $50 million in that same time frame.
It’s actually closer to $19 million but who’s counting?
Paying a star like Harden wouldn't be a problem for most teams, but Oklahoma City already has two players (Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook) signed to maximum contracts and a third (Serge Ibaka) likely seeking a contract that pays upwards of $10 million per year.
Ibaka is a lifetime 8/7 player, not the typical production you would expect from a guy making ten figures a year. Granted he’s one of the best defensive big men in the league, but that still doesn’t change the fact that Nick Collison stole minutes from him in the Finals. I say they pay Harden, amnesty Perk, offer Ibaka 8 mil a year and if he doesn’t like it he can walk. If he wants to win multiple championships he stays. Done and done.
Considering the new luxury tax rules, a small-market team like the Thunder can't possibly afford to pay four players that much money and still field a competitive team around them. In the end, either Harden or Ibaka will be gone.
The league is gravitating towards faster and smaller lineups, plus Durant can play the four or five for extended periods of time and still be very effective. Harden is a border line Olympian for Christ sake! You can’t afford to lose a player of his caliber.
Would you rather have Harden for one year or Beal for four?
HARDEN!!!!!!!!
This move also makes sense on the court. Beal has been compared to both Ray Allen and Eric Gordon. Allen is the best three-point shooter of all time, and Gordon is on track for a similar career.
Eric Gordon played 9 games last season and shot 25% from behind the arc.
The Thunder shot 32-of-105 from long range in the NBA Finals for 30.5 percent, whereas Miami made 42-of-98 three-pointers for 42.9 percent. In such a close series, that might have made the difference—especially when you consider that without Kevin Durant's 13-for-33 performance, the Thunder fell to 26.3 percent.
Oklahoma was the best foul shooting team in the league last year, the third best overall shooting team from the field and the eleventh best from 3 during the regular season. But why critique from a 66 game sample size when you can focus in on five games against the fourth best defense in the league? Oh, and Kevin Durant IS on the team so I don’t know why you wouldn't include his shooting numbers with the team's stats.
While Harden is a fine long-distance shooter (for his career he's at 37 percent), he isn't elite. What's more is that Harden needs the ball in his hands to score.
Bradley Beal shot 34% from 3 last year in college, you know, that league where the three point line is three feet closer to the hoop!!! Also, take a second and re-read that last sentence- “Harden needs the ball in his hands to score”. As opposed to Beal, who can put it in the net telepathically. On second thought they should totally trade for this guy!
Normally that wouldn't be an issue, but the Thunder already have two ball-dominant stars. Beal would add a new dimension to the Thunder offense by being being a catch-and-shoot-type player. He can come off screens and hit shots at a better rate than Harden can.
I’ll ignore the fact that this article actually got published with the double “being” in it, but “hit shots at a better rate”? I’m not buying it. Harden shot more than 5% better than Beal on both FG% and 3P%, while playing against superior competition.
Replacing Harden with Beal would give Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant more possessions. It would also end clamors from some fans that Harden, not Westbrook, should be the team's primary ball-handler.
Harden should be the teams primary ball handler. He penetrates with ease and this would take the distribution burden off of Russell Westbrook’s shoulders. Russ is one of the top five scorers in the league and he shouldn’t have to worry about getting teammates looks and handling the rock at all times. Westbrook is a better version of Penny 2.0 and it’s only a matter of time before he makes the jump back to his original position, shooting guard.
Each of Oklahoma City's three perimeter stars (assuming Beal gets close to that level) would have a defined role. Durant would be the all-purpose scorer, Westbrook would be the driver and distributor and Beal would be the shooter.
This team just won the Western Conference title with Harden as their shooter.
Basketball is about fit as much as talent. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen worked so well together because they played so different. A big issue Oklahoma City faced in the finals was how similarly James Harden and Russell Westbrook play sometimes, and how hard it is for them to play off of each other.
Apparently it’s not that hard for them to play together, considering they're 152-78 in their three regular seasons together, and oh yea, MADE IT TO THE NBA FINALS!!!!!!
While Beal isn't as good as Harden right now, he is more than capable of reaching that level. If the Thunder are truly committed to winning multiple championships, trading for Beal is the right long-term move.
More capable of reaching what level? Harden just won the NBA’s 6thMan Award, is one of the most recognizable faces (beards) in the game, averaged 17 points in 31 minutes off the bench and is currently trying out for a roster spot on Team USA. But no, paying a guy like that would absolutely mean they’re not committed to winning multiple championships.
Where's my $200 mil?
-fresh (@danye33)
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