James Harden: 3rd Pick Bust or Future All-Star?
by Trevor Paxton on Aug 19, 2009 6:00 PM CDT
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Hello all. I am a Phoenix Suns fan (and Bright Side of the Sun regular), but another team I am quite fond of is my hometown Arizona State Sun Devils. I've lived in Tempe my entire life, and growing up in the town and seeing the team go through its ups and downs (but mostly downs), the second James Harden stepped onto the court, I was ecstatic. Finally, we had someone to couple with Jeff Pendergraph. Finally, we had a consistent and legitimate scorer. Finally, we had a bonafide college hoops star. Now, here's where I pose the question to all Thunder fans: what do you think of James Harden?
via justthetipoff.files.wordpress.com
James Harden, in his first year of college, averaged 17.8 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 3.2 APG, 2.1 SPG, while shooting 52.7% from the field (40.7% from downtown) and 75.4% from the free throw line. Hardly any numbers to scoff at. In his second year, he averaged 20.1 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 4.2 APG, 1.7 SPG, while shooting 48.9% from the field (35.6% from downtown) and 75.6% from the free throw line. While a few of his percentages dipped, keep in mind that he took 35 more shots (and 55 more three pointers), and still made them at a respectable clip. But, do you think that the Thunder made the right choice, given everyone else that was still on the board?
In my opinion, James Harden was the perfect pick for the Thunder. I think he has the best chance to have a legitimate All-Star caliber career out of anyone in the draft not named Blake Griffin. I think he will complement Russell Westbrook (who I am excited to see continue progress) very well in the backcourt. With KD, Harden, Westbrook, Green, and Krstic (I assume he'll be the starting center?) on the floor, I can see that starting five causing major problems in the future. However, since the Thunder have a lack of depth (minus Sefalosha and Shaun Livingston, if he's healthy), I project them to continue struggling for the near future. Though, with the addition of Harden, I see very good things coming from a very young, and very talented team.
So, I ask you again: is James Harden going to be a 3rd overall pick bust or is he going to have a long, All-Star team adorned career?
This post does not necessarily reflect the views of the staff of Welcome to Loud City or SB Nation. However, it was made by one of the members of the Welcome to Loud City community, so there is a large chance the above post is extremely ballin'!
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All-star
James Harden has the potential to be a All-star player. I think that this year he will be used more of the main offensive weapon off of the bench because the thunder have many guys in the starting lineup who can score but only have DJ White who can score on the second team. On any other team in the NBA, he would be a starter this year but he will be a 6th man this year atleast to start but will play as much as a starter. I am excited to see him play. He can do it all , he doesn’t do anything exceptional but he does it all good. He reminds me of a cuttino mobley in his younger days. I think that he is the second or 3rd most NBA ready guy in the draft behind Blake and tied with tyreke evans. The thunder are deeper than people think.
Starters Westbrook , sefolosha, durant, green and kristic
Bench – Livingston, Harden, Weaver, Dj White, Collison and Thomas.
I think that if they get off to a good start and Harden can lead the second unit with livingston… watch out for the young Thunder
i like the cuttino mobley comparison...
but i really, sincerely hope that he doesn’t become the black hole cuttino has become. he’s only concerned about himself, and i’m hoping that harden will be a more team oriented player in the NBA. he did just that in college, but in the NBA, some players can get obsessed with stats, since we all know that stats (generally) earn you the big money.
i really like the prospect of the thunder this year. i don’t think they’ll be a playoff team, but they’ll be nipping at the heels, if everyone can stay healthy.
by Trevor Paxton on Aug 20, 2009 6:45 PM CDT up reply actions
could be an all-star
i think he is gonna end up as a great fit for this team and a guy that is always talked about when the all-star teams are announced, not a lock or never voted a starter but a guy that gets a few all-star games from the coaches and he’s always talked about or at least in the discussion of top 10 sg’s in the game, once he settles into the league that is.
id even go one step further and say the only other sensible draft move that could have been made would have been to trade down with either Toronto/NJ and pick up either DeRozen or Williams although both are bigger risks than Harden, IMO. DeRozen is very very raw and while Williams has all the talent you look for in a top 5 pick he’s a bit of head case at times AND he’s not the model of consistency with his play(although I think he will end up as one of the best players out of this draft).
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