The early trade has eliminated a lot of potentially more beneficial offers in the future. Possibly. Not only that, but pulling the trigger so prematurely also means that all the players involved in the trade will have almost no experience with their new teams before the beginning of the season.
This move for sure is going to have a huge impact on The Thunder in the short term, most certainly more of a negative one than a positive. Durant, Westbrook, and Harden have basically been the big three at Oklahoma city for years now. The three have played together through some rough times early on, and grown into an efficient workhorse of a team. This trade could severely impact the fluidity of their game, not only because of how little experience Martin will have in this system, but also because those three have openly expressed just how much they love playing together. There is nothing quite so gripping as playing basketball with someone for so long and developing a play style that reflects your identities, just to be ripped apart.
Kevin Martin has been a scorer his whole career but has never really developed into that next level that would make him a star. Harden and Martin both have a similar impact on that level of the game, but not in defense. Not even close. Harden is much more of a lock down perimeter defender and is more efficient with the ball in his hands, whereas Martin tends to hack and slash and jack up shots on a whim.
On the long term side of things however, the Thunder seem to have it figured out. They got a LOT for Harden. Too much in my opinion, but tell that to a Houston team who would have been lucky to cap .300 this season. Real lucky. So now the Thunder have a guard that looks to have a high potential, as well as a fill in shooting guard who can put up points when hes called on. Oh ya, and also some first round picks from teams that are almost guaranteed to be high.
The Rockets don't seem to have things so figured out. After trying to claw their way into the Dwight Howard trade talks, they jumped ship and started fresh. So, they dumped off a lot for a piece they think might bring them a building block for a team that I thought was supposed to be rebuilding. And that building block is used to coming off of the bench and has said many times he prefers it. I'm not saying that he cant start, but I'm not sure if hes "that guy". I am also amazed that they dumped off Jeremy Lamb in the deal. Lamb has shown in the summer league that he can be a more than potent threat with the ball in his grip and has a ton of potential. Come on, guys.
Well, in the long run, another smart move by the Thunder, another questionable move for the Rockets. Who would have thought?
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