Instant Analysis: Thunder select James Harden with the third pick
Somehow, I think we all knew this is where we’d be. We all had visions of black floppy hair streaking up the court and busting out a fancy-pants pass, but I think deep down, we knew James Harden was going to be the name called with the third pick.
It’s kind of a weird feeling honestly. I’d been calling for Harden for almost two months now. I don’t think there’s any player that fits us better than him. Oklahoma City was statistically the worst team at shooting guard in the league last season. Harden is talented and can do multiple things. He’s can step on the court tomorrow and make this team better. I truly think he’s going to be a fantastic player.
But for some reason I feel like the guy that just let a girl get away. Ricky Rubio was the most unknown thing about this draft. Honestly, we have no idea what he’s going to do. All we’ve got are some YouTube clips and six games in Greece to base anything off of. But there was just something about him. I have no idea what it is. He was intriguing. He was cool. He had potential we could only imagine. And the idea of him in a Thunder uniform just got very appealing in the last 48 hours.
It’s like Christmas morning when you’re eight. All you want is a Sega Genesis. You’ve asked for it all year and that’s what you dream of. You can picture the black box sitting perfectly on your TV stand, right next to your stack of pogs. Heck, you’ve already bought Sonic the Hedgehog. But two days before you saw a commercial for a Super Nintendo and you couldn’t get over how cool Super Mario Brothers looked. You start tearing open your present Christmas morning and low and behold, it’s exactly what you asked for – a Sega Genesis. But yet, you’re slightly disappointed. Why? I have no idea. But that’s sort of how I feel.
Common sense says James Harden is the perfect pick. We can assume Rubio was the best player available, but we don’t know that. But the desire to field a freaking cool team said pick Rubio. Not to say Harden makes uncool – I mean, he’s got a beard and he wore a bow-tie! – but the flash of Rubio can’t be ignored.
But Sam Presti is smarter than all of us and he’s got the common sense. He doesn’t care about alley oops and behind-the-back passes. He cares about wins and losses. And in three years when James Harden is the perfect complementary piece to the Thunder Three, I don’t think you’ll care about how cool the team is.
Rubio’s lure was the like the Sirens in The Odyssey. The more we saw, the more we heard, the more we liked. But at the end of the day, if you look in the mirror and think hard, you know this was the right pick. We’re in the business of winning games, not having a fun time. If that’s wanted you wanted, buy an And 1 mixtape.
Who knows, Rubio may make us cry into our pillows a few years from now. We don’t know for sure. But if Harden helps us win games, what does it matter?
I believe in Russell Westbrook as a point guard. You know why? Because Russell Westbrook does. He thinks he can be a great one and he did a pretty solid job of proving it last year. 15-5-5 isn’t that bad for a rookie last time I checked. Westbrook thinks he can do it evidently Sam Presti believes in Westbrook too. Good enough for me.
This is the pick we needed. And don’t think for a second that’s the only reason Presti took Harden. This wasn’t just a “need” pick, unless “awesome basketball player” is considered a need. Presti took the Arizona State guard because he’s a great basketball player. An All-American, Pac-10 player of the year, a guy that averaged 20 points a game in a great conference. He’s legit. He’s going to make the other four guys he’s on the floor with better. Maybe it’s not going to sell as many replica jerseys, but that doesn’t matter.
We’ve chanted that we believe in Sam Presti for months now. But the thing about drafting Harden is, it doesn’t take a lot of faith to believe in it.
By the way, I went and watched Transformers 2 after the draft and I HIGHLY recommend it. It might be better than the first one, and I loved the first one!
james harden? really? are u joking, aren’t u? no,no really? a 23 year old bench player instead of a 18 year genius… sorry KD,I’m sorry for u and u will be always in my heart,I’ve been with u since those longhorn times; i’ve supported even those earl watson’s of the world only for u, but now I’m out of the OKC vagon; sorry again , KD, it’s just that I would not be able to see harden doing more or less nothing and westbrook lost in traffic instead of the Ricky-KD showtime ..yes, Presti u are really a genius, you hired the grEat PJ CARLESIMO and now you drafted a 23 year old player instead of Rubio(5 years younger)..Thank you, OKC. You almost had the most exciting team of the NBA…now it’s done.
James Harden, born 08/26/1989
Ricky Rubio, born October 21, 1990
um…
yea, you right, i’m so upset that I even forget the elemental maths, now I don’t know even how to add…and u know what? i give a f- about it, cause harden sucks..i’m out like my nba- pass to see the 82 rubio-kd combo of creation
…bj mullens welcome to the Zombie Sonics museum of 7 footers dead men walking..petro, robert swift,Seane and now u, BJ.. i know u will be able to keep the legacy and average 1.6 ppg and 1.4 rbg at best..u know presti is a genius, he elected PJ CARLESIMO to guide the KD path, so…. james harden, are u killing me?
Thanks for the contributions, Toni. *shakes head*
Anyways… Anybody else proud of the Oklahoma media for blowing the Westbrook-Rubio thing WAY out of proportion? One “You trippin’”, unrecorded, with no context, has turned into “Westbrook forced Presti to take (the overrated, boring) Harden over the (magnificent, sure-fire all-star) Rubio.”
Now Berry Tramel is calling Russ “assistant GM” because he happened to pick Harden and Mullens in ESPN Magazine. Does Presti still not get the benefit of the doubt, or do we have to wait until Harden shows that he’s a good player for the criticism to slow down? Typical shallow analysis by the Oklahoma media.
I feel sorry for James Harden–people don’t like him just because he’s not Ricky Rubio.
I welcome James, BJ, and Robert to our team! I think we did just fine and are taking the Rutgers fooball approach of “keep choppin’”
Now lets see what happens in Vegas. Go gett’em, boys!
B.J. Mullens is a cheaper, less inked up Robert (Bid Red) Swift
I had a hope for the flash (whether real or imaginary, we’ll see) of Rubio too. I think you are right, though. Harden was the solid pick in a very shallow draft. He’s a good scorer, nice size, and a decent defender. I think Rubio will be a defensive liability. I also think Harden’s atheleticism was better than people thought when they actually did some of the jumping and quickness measurements. He’s just not one of those guys that explodes on tape. I’m not saying he’s Paul Pierce, but he has more of the ‘Paul Pierce atheleticism’ in that he just kinda mauls his opponent without ever really jumping over them or running by them.
Solid draft all around, I think. Harden was the best SG in the draft, a solid player. Just what the Thunder needed. BJ Mullens was a solid player in the minutes he played (I heard that Matta wanted him to stay another year, so he restricted his minutes…). Actually quite solid for a freshman center. Vaden I’m not so high on… more of a high-volume shooter… but then, this team needs shooters. If he can get more consistent in actually making his shots, he could be just the spark this team needs off the bench.
Tramel called Westbrook “Assistant GM”
classic . . .
Two months ago, I wasn’t high on Harden. Harden and Curry, to me, were unathletic scorers who had success in college. I was more impressed with Rubio and DeRozen.
Then came the combine. Suddenly, Harden isn’t unathletic after all. Instead, he’s actually pretty athletic. In fact, he’s dang strong, and rather impressive. His body movements and body language on the court makes him seem unathletic and unconventional, thus the comparisons to Paul Peirce.
I would have been just fine with Rubio. Fortunately for us, Memphis took Thabust, leaving us with two homeruns available, Rubio and Harden. We took the better fit, and the surer bet. Smart move.
Now I do like Curry too, but I think Harden fits us better. Dicky V can say what he likes, but I’m not interested in his opinion. Curry wanted New York and probably needs to play point rather than the 2. It seems to me like James wanted to be here, wanted to hook up with Russell and be a part of a young and upcoming team.
If we had taken Curry, and I had to see that look of disappointment on his face, or if we had taken Rubio, and I had to listen to how he is considering staying in Europe as a result, I’d have been sick to my stomach. Instead, we hit a homerun, with the guy who fits us the best, and who wants to be here.
I’m not upset about BJ Mullins. I figured we’d take him. In fact, I called it about 10 minutes before the pick on the live thread. But really, the dude is just a 2 year contract. If he goes to the D-League and gets better in two years, super. If not, no big deal. The 25th pick is for a low-risk project. We’re not out that much. I’d rather have had Ellington there, but who knows.
All in all, I’m glad we are where we are.
I would have like to ask Presti why he didn’t take Rubio . . .
the little snippet at newsok.com didn’t shed light on anything . . .
Very good draft. I believe Presti got exactly the players he wanted going in. I wonder how much Rubio’s buyout influenced the decision?…or maybe this comment made after the draft is an indicator…
“Rubio’s father, Esteve, told the MARCA.com in Spanish, “With this pick, it is possible that Ricky will play a year or two more in Europe.”
He added, “He can still go, he can stay a year … and until two. Everything is open, although the most probable is continuing in Europe for some time. We have to talk with the people in Minnesota … and to see what happens, because, at this time, we can be in Minnesota or in another place.”
that’s what I was thinking – that’s why I wish Presti would have addressed this . . .
@toni
Thanks for visiting. Hope you enjoy that Blazers-Suns preseason game.
@KingGondo
You can’t just point the finger at the media. If you look back at yesterday’s comments, there were several people on here who let “you trippin” run rampant. It was so bad that I asked if I had missed something Russell had said.
@Philip
All the rumors about Rubio now center on him getting traded, but where?
NY has nothing to offer, unless Minny is stupid enough to take Jordan Hill… They already have a better PF/C in Jefferson than David Lee…
Sacramento’s out with their horrid pick of “Drive-by” Evans… Who else is desperate for a PG? What about Phoenix? They’re in rebuilding mode, and there’s a chance Nash will bolt if they trade Amar’e… What could they offer the Wolves?
@MartzMimic
I know, I just think it’s unfair to Russell that a flippant comment has changed the focus from “James Harden gets drafted!” to “Well, I guess Westbrook will be happy he’s still the PG of the future.”
I like Tramel generally, but a more interesting column topic would have been Harden’s awesome suit.
Russell only has himself to blame – people blame the media, but his “I don’t remember saying that” remark really doesn’t give him much credibility . . .
@Kev
Well, according to Royce it seems like he was joking when he said he “didn’t remember.”
Anyways, I’m pretty sure all this chatter will stop once we get James on the court with the other Thunder players… He’s going to be really, really good, imo.
@toni
you have no idea what your talking about
Ricky Rubio is the only player in this draft that can make grown men act like teenage school girls. Those fans who missed out (Memphis, OKC, Sactown, Wizards) are all heartbroken, angry, and soul crushed. They just wanted the opportunity to root for Rubio.
Like they say, it’s better to have had a man-crush and lost, then to never have had a man-crush at all.
So, if we can pick up Gortat in free agency, would that make our center combo the Krispy Hammer?
In the same vein, I guess our shooting guard combo would be BoTie.
Anybody know what the difference is between the #3 and #5 pick in terms of rookie contract value? Maybe that’s why Rubio is talking about going back? It’s one thing to play for free, but to pay to play would be something else.
sorry martzmimic , but i’m not enjoyig any blazers game..I left blazers vagon when they selected oden over durant, cause “oden fits better” they said, and of course KD happens to be better(what a surprise, really?)..then I supported the kd team( the zombie sonics, also knowN as OKC THUNDE)..AND NOW I’m leaving the zombie sonics cause they insisted in the same stupid ”fits better ”(harden) rule over the best player (rubio)..everybody knows who will better two years from now.
@toni
Sounds like you’re an awesome fan.
indeed
good luck with westbrook- harden combo, sounds terrific.. kd, you fit better in sonics unis
the pick should a been curry
plus mullens is nothing terrible draft for the thunder d- at best
at least we will get to be in the lottery for like ten more yrs disgust i aint buyin no more tickets