The contract negotiations between James Harden and the Oklahoma City Thunder were apparently not going as smoothly as reported. Harden was looking a near max-deal while the Thunder were reluctant to sign a deal that would result in a luxury tax situation. I think that most people, myself included; all believed that Harden and the Thunder would come to terms on an extension. This was not to be as the Thunder shipped James Harden to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Jeremy Lamb and Kevin Martin.
Lets breakdown how this trade will affect your fantasy roster; is James Harden ready to be an offensive focal point and can Kevin Martin be effective in a sixth man role?
James Harden has been the most productive non-starter in the NBA for the previous two seasons. He provides points, rebounds and assists while shooting a blistering .491 from the field. With the Thunder, Harden had the luxury of stepping in and playing alongside Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, those luxuries don’t exist in Houston. Without anybody else to defer to offensively, Harden is going to become the offensive focal point.
With more touches and opportunities Harden will produce better numbers than last season. Remember that even in his sixth man role he was playing 31 minutes a night, so his averages of 16.8 ppg, 3.7 apg and 4.1 rpg are for a full nights work. What will make a huge difference for Harden is that last year he took more than 15 shots in a game on only three occasions. Those three games netted him 33, 25 and 40 points respectively.
There is little doubt that Harden will not only be required to but expected to take at least 15 shots in a game every single night. Harden’s fantasy value just went from a top five shooting guard to a must-have elite fantasy option. Whereas I had him previously ranked as the fourth best shooting guard option in the Edraft rankings; I’m willing to bump him to number two, now ahead of Monta Ellis and Dwayne Wade. James Harden is a MUST-DRAFT!
Going the other way to Oklahoma are Jeremy Lamb and Kevin Martin. While Lamb has yet to lace em’ up in a regular season game, he looks impressive enough in preseason and Summer League action to make one think that he should carve out a few minutes a night on the Thunder squad. Don’t expect much production at all in what limited playing time he will receive. Jeremy Lamb’s limited fantasy value prior to the trade took a hit with this move. If you were thinking of taking a flyer on him before; re-evaluate and look elsewhere for that sleeper.
Kevin Martin is going to have to adapt his approach from being the primary scorer to being content with filling the Harden-vacated sixth man role. While the stat lines are somewhat similar between Harden and Martin; the glaring difference is the field goal percentage. A sixth man needs to be able to come in to the game, get a rhythm and score on the opportunities that come. In playing only 40 games last season and starting every one of them; Martin jacked 15 or more shots in 18 of those games and shot a .413 field goal percentage.
The opportunity to take that many shots isn’t going to come for him in Oklahoma and without the free-reign to take shots; Kevin Martin will struggle. I had ranked Kevin Martin as my ninth overall shooting guard in the Edraft rankings; however, with this trade his fantasy value has dropped dramatically and he can no longer be considered a top ten option. Until we see just how Martin transitions into the Thunder offense, I would not look at drafting him onto my fantasy team.