I think this came down to OKC not wanting to MAX him out and I don't blame them. They still gotta build a squad around their two best players. It's different if you have LeBron, Bosh and Wade. Harden isn't better than any of those guys. So you can't build a team like that in OKC.

They get a very decent shooter in Kevin Martin, and bench guy in Lamb and I'm sure they got some nice picks outta this since Houston has a ton to give.

People will bitch about how the frontcourt guys were expendible, but you can replace Harden alot easier than Ibaka. Plus they have Perry Jones chillin too.

Harden gets to go to Houston and show if he's worth a MAX deal. We shall see.