Sat, Oct 27, 2012 at 11:20pm

HARDEN TO HOUSTON IN 6-PLAYER SWAP

The Houston Rockets acquired guard James Harden, center Cole Aldrich, forward Lazar Hayward, and swingman Daequan Cook from the Oklahoma City Thunder for shooting guard Kevin Martin, guard Jeremy Lamb, two protected first-round draft picks, and a protected second-round draft pick.

What does it give the Houston Rockets
No NBA team has overhauled as much this off-season as the Rockets, and in Harden they get the superstar-level player they've long coveted. Houston is widely expected to ink Harden to a long-term extension right away, making him a key cornerstone for the next half-decade or so along with free agent signees {P Jeremy Lin} and {P Omer Asik}. Harden should see a nice boost in minutes, shots, and production in general now that he's likely a full-time starter. Aldrich is a potential steal here (and may actually push Asik for minutes) while Hayward and Cook are solid bench talents who may or may not stick with the team.

What does it give the Oklahoma City Thunder
After signing rising stars {P Kevin Durant}, {P Russell Westbrook}, and {P Serge Ibaka} to long-term extensions the Thunder had a tough time finding the funds to keep Harden happy. With the threat of him leaving as a free agent after this season, Oklahoma City does a nice job here of getting a top-end scorer at shooting guard in Martin (whose large deal expires after this season). Lamb probably isn't ready to contribute too much but he has the talent to be a Harden-like player eventually, and smart GM Sam Presti will likely do great things with the conditional / protected draft picks. Expect Martin to possibly both start and push {P Thabo Sefolosha} to more of a sixth man role.

Fantasy impact
Harden immediately gets a big boost now that he's with the Rockets. Not only does he have fewer stars to share shots with, he should start for his new team and both become the focus of the offense and see a big boost in minutes. Martin's value probably won't change too much now that he's in Oklahoma City (but a small fantasy downgrade is reasonable since he will probably be less prominent than in Houston). Aldrich is worth keeping an eye on now that he's in Houston, since he should immediately be a rotation regular (possibly backing up Asik). Cook and Hayward have always had sleeper appeal, but their roles likely won't change much now that they're in Houston. For the Thunder, Lamb is probably going to see very few minutes early on, but may eventually be the team's starter (next season) so he remains a solid keeper pick.