Draft Countdown: James Harden

Dr Positivity · Post #61 » by **Dr Positivity** » Sat May 16, 2009 6:13 pm

I like Chad Ford, but I can't read his draft articles anymore without thinking "he was Darko and Yi's #1 pusher and loved almost all the other bust picks over the years" His draft instincts are flat out cursed

Raptolicism · Post #62 » by **Raptolicism** » Sat May 16, 2009 7:47 pm

Admittedly I haven't seen him play a whole lot, but from this description I think a good player to compare him against is Redd. The fact that it is specifically noted that he is not exactly a superb athlete leads me to believe that he is not the ideal fit for us.

chrome381 · Post #63 » by **chrome381** » Sat May 16, 2009 8:45 pm

Rhettmatic wrote:Nice read. It's the third in his series, so go to these links if you're more interested in Hasheem Thabeet or Blake Griffin.

And Harden:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2009 ... our-090515

First, he seems to have lost 10 to 15 pounds since we saw him last in the NCAA tournament. His face is thinner, his abs more chiseled. The improved physique and conditioning have given him an added quickness and explosiveness that you didn't always see at Arizona State.

"He reminds me a little of Brandon Roy," another NBA executive said. "When you watched him in college, he didn't look like an elite athlete because he was using his knowledge of the game, not his athleticism, to get by people. Then he gets to the combine and does really well in all of the athletic testing and everyone was wowed.

"Harden's like that. He's got sneaky athleticism."

He also has two other physical advantages that should help in the pros. While he's at the average height for 2-guards in the league (6-foot-5 ½ in shoes, according to his trainer) he has a 6-foot-11 wingspan that allows him to wreak havoc in the lane and a thick base that gives him the ability to post up smaller, weaker guards in the paint.

Second, Harden is showing a marked improvement in his 3-point shooting. While Harden would have been categorized as a good shooter already, he wasn't a dead-eye, either -- especially late in the season. You can see that he's been working on increasing his range and accuracy, and in the workout I saw, he was hitting just about everything he threw up there.

His form looks great and his release is quick. Over time he's going to need to continue to develop that skill. Since he doesn't have a super quick first step, he's going to need defenders to play him close on the perimeter to use his creativity to get to the rim.

Finally, Harden seems to be playing with a chip on his shoulder. After absolutely dominating the first half of his sophomore season, his play began to fall off in Pac-10 play. Teams were double- and triple-teaming him and at times he grew passive and would mentally fall out of games.

I figured he'd lose a little bit of weight before the draft, and I'm glad to see he has. I think Harden will absolutely be the real deal in the NBA. Who agrees/disagrees?

I definitely agree Im impressed at how much better conditioned he looked compared to how he looked in the season, the dude is just too skilled overall and has too strong of an understanding of the game to become a Bust especially if he improves his speed quickness and athleticism.

It looks like he would fit extremely well here because he can create offense, penetrate and will defiantly take the scoring load off our bigs his defense is still suspect but added athleticism would improve it greatly. This should be our guy if we win the #3 pick but it looks like there's no way hes gonna slip past the top 5

But i agree this guy will definitely make a name for himself in the NBA.

Gruel · Post #64 » by **Gruel** » Mon May 18, 2009 9:21 pm

Gimmie gimmie. Top 3 please.

Kabookalu · Post #65 » by **Kabookalu** » Mon May 18, 2009 10:12 pm

Raptolicism wrote:Admittedly I haven't seen him play a whole lot, but from this description I think a good player to compare him against is Redd. The fact that it is specifically noted that he is not exactly a superb athlete leads me to believe that he is not the ideal fit for us.

The Redd comparisons are pretty legit too since both are very good perimeter shooters and Redd is an underrated overall scorer, but Harden does more playmaking, passing, and penetrates more often. He has a better first step and is more crafty when it comes to slashing.

MA29 · Post #66 » by **MA29** » Mon May 18, 2009 10:35 pm

In his work out he looks way mor atheletic then he is accounted for what do you guys think
...i hope we get him!

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2009/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=PreDraftTour-090515

tylrrr · Post #67 » by **tylrrr** » Mon May 18, 2009 10:40 pm

I did not realize he has a 6'11 wingspan. That is just absurd.

Raps in 4 · Post #68 » by **Raps in 4** » Mon May 18, 2009 10:42 pm

People underrate this guy's athleticism. Not every player has to be as athletic as VC to be a good player. It's a good thing that he's underrated, but unfortunately there is 0% chance he drops to us.

MA29 · Post #69 » by **MA29** » Mon May 18, 2009 10:42 pm

any way possible we can get him and derozan?

Kabookalu · Post #70 » by **Kabookalu** » Mon May 18, 2009 10:42 pm

PLEASE GET TOP 3 PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!

God, if you're not going to give us John Salmons, at least give us James Harden.

A top 4 pick might even be fine too depending on how the lottery turns out because of Thabeet.

rapsrealm · Post #71 » by **rapsrealm** » Mon May 18, 2009 10:44 pm

I hope we get the third pick and nab him.

C_Money · Post #72 » by **C_Money** » Mon May 18, 2009 10:44 pm

I was really disapointed with him in the tournament. He was the man on that team and he seemed pretty comfortable just standing around watching his teammates brick shots. Didn't demand the ball or anything.

Raps in 4 · Post #73 » by **Raps in 4** » Mon May 18, 2009 10:45 pm

MA29 wrote:any way possible we can get him and derozan?

We probably won't get either of them. Harden will go 3-5, while Derozen 6-7.

tylrrr · Post #74 » by **tylrrr** » Mon May 18, 2009 10:45 pm

C_Money wrote:I was really disapointed with him in the tournament. He was the man on that team and he seemed pretty comfortable just standing around watching his teammates brick shots. Didn't demand the ball or anything.

To his defence he was getting triple teamed a lot of the time. He did look defeated though.

Post #75 » by **Rhettmatic** » Mon May 18, 2009 10:49 pm

I posted this a couple days ago and it was merged into the main Harden thread, which you can read here:

viewtopic.php?f=32&t=903983

tylrrr · Post #76 » by **tylrrr** » Mon May 18, 2009 10:53 pm

Harden is like John Salmons 2.0. Better and without the mental lapses. They even look alike.

Kabookalu · Post #77 » by **Kabookalu** » Mon May 18, 2009 10:53 pm

Man with the lottery only tomorrow, I really wished we never went on that 6 game win streak as much as I enjoyed it.

Raps in 4 · Post #78 » by **Raps in 4** » Mon May 18, 2009 10:57 pm

Raptolicism wrote:Admittedly I haven't seen him play a whole lot, but from this description I think a good player to compare him against is Redd. The fact that it is specifically noted that he is not exactly a superb athlete leads me to believe that he is not the ideal fit for us.

Athleticism is overrated. I'd rather have a guy like Harden who can score in so many ways, than a one-dimensional athlete like Derozen.

tylrrr · Post #79 » by **tylrrr** » Mon May 18, 2009 10:58 pm

I don't see the Michael Redd comparison at all really. Redd is a terrible defender and basically just a jump shooter. He's not nearly as crafty with the ball or versatile without it.

The Notic · Post #80 » by **The Notic** » Mon May 18, 2009 11:00 pm

tylrrr wrote:I don't see the Michael Redd comparison at all really. Redd is a terrible defender and basically just a jump shooter. He's not nearly as crafty with the ball or versatile without it.

what? redd has excellent handles, is crafty with and without the ball and has one of the most advanced post games of any guard.