Thunder Deal G James Harden To The Rockets
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Oklahoma City Thunder/NBA(OKLAHOMA CITY) — The Oklahoma City Thunder dealt shooting guard James Harden, center Cole Aldrich and forwards Daequan Cook and Lazar Hayward to the Houston Rockets on Saturday night, in exchange for guards Kevin Martin and Jeremy Lamb, two first-round draft picks, and a second round pick.
The Thunder dealt the NBA’s reigning Sixth Man of the Year after they were unable to come to terms on a contract extension. The deadline for getting a deal in place is Oct. 31.
“We wanted to sign James to an extension, but at the end of the day, these situations have to work for all those involved. Our ownership group again showed their commitment to the organization with several significant offers,” Presti said in a released statement. “We were unable to reach a mutual agreement, and therefore executed a trade that capitalized on the opportunity to bring in a player of Kevin’s caliber, a young talent like Jeremy and draft picks, which will be important to our organizational goal of a sustainable team. We appreciate James, Cole, Daequan and Lazar’s contributions to the Thunder organization and this community and wish them the best in the future.”
The 23-year-old Harden averaged 16.8 points and 3.7 assists last season in leading the Thunder to the Western Conference championship.
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