A Harden Sell

Halloween arrived early in Houston, although it wasn't hard candy the Rockets hauled in, but an even better treat: James Harden. Despite him helping guide the franchise to their first finals appearance ever this past June. Oklahoma City sent the reigning sixth man of the year to Houston Saturday night, just five days before the Thunder's season starts, after an agreement on a long-term contract couldn't be reached. Skilled scorer Kevin Martin, rookie Jeremy Lamb and three draft picks are the Reese's pieces that found their Milky way to OKC.

$4.5 million was supposedly the small sum between securing Harden for four years and shipping him off. While it would've been the maximum amount of money allowed, that's couch cushion change to teams. Why the Thunder acted hard up for cash in regards to Harden, when they re-signed Serge Ibaka to a 4-year, $48 million deal in August, is as strange as starting seafood shanty in cow capital Oklahoma City. NBA executives fear exceeding the salary cap like comedian Mike O'Malley fears not wearing a cap.

OKC wasn't willing to commit big bucks to a quartet of promising players (Durant, Westbrook, Ibaka and Harden), while Houston is untroubled being tied up with a trio of tyros (Lin, Asik and Harden). We'll see which salary strategy - spending or saving - is sound, but changing the chemistry of a chummy contender so close to the opener is an experiment we wouldn't have gone through with, like Anderson Cooper on daytime television. It should've been too hard for the Thunder to say goodbye to James Harden. GM Sam Presti, prepare to hear boos long after Oct. 31 is over. This is a trade that could come back to haunt the Thunder.