Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big storyline. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have traded James Harden to the Houston Rockets after they were unable to agree to a contract extension with the star guard, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.
The Rockets sent Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb and future draft considerations to the Thunder for Harden, sources told Y! Sports. Along with Harden, the Thunder will send Cole Aldrich, Lazar Hayward and Daequan Cook to the Rockets.
Houston also sent two 2013 first-round picks (from Dallas and Toronto) to Oklahoma City, sources told Y! Sports, as well as a 2013 second-round pick (via Charlotte). The Thunder will receive the Toronto pick this year if it’s slotted Nos. 4-14. That pick also is top-three protected in 2014, top-two protected in 2015 and top-one protected in 2016.
Yahoo! – Thunder trade Harden to Rockets
What does this blockbuster mean for the Celtics? The road to Banner 18 got a bit easier.
Sam Presti got tremendous value for James Harden. But make no mistake, OKC is taking a small step back this year. When a team on the door step of a championship trades a key two-way player for a one dimensional scorer with an injury history and rookies/draft picks, it’s a step back.
I’m hearing a lot of talk about how good Kevin Martin is. If Martin has so much value, why has Houston offered him to just about every team in the league, and why has nearly every team turned them down?
If you want a great behind the scenes perspective of how the trade went down, check out Adrian Wojnarowski’s column.
The Celtics are holding an open practice for season ticket holders at the Garden at 11 am. I’ll be there with video camera in hand. Look for posts later in the day.
The rest of the links:
ESPN Boston – Ray Allen: Let’s move on | High praise for Pierce | CSNNE – Deep bench to make a difference | Sullinger remains humble | Herald – Pierce marches into 15th season |
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