More on the Jeremy Lamb Trade …

Steve Sobel, who has coached Jeremy Lamb in the Greater Hartford Pro Am the last few summers, e-mailed me some of his thoughts on the recent trade that sent Lamb from the Rockets to the Thunder. Lamb did not play in the Thunder’s opening loss to San Antonio.

I pass Sobel’s thoughts along:

“… From a basketball standpoint, it will be a blessing in disguise. I think he will be in an environment, first of all that, has won and values winning. This cannot be underestimated to a young and talented player.

     [Scott] Brooks is different than [Kevin] McHale and relates much better to younger players, even though that may not be apparent to those looking in from the outside. Lamb will also be in a role where he can take advantage of his transition-game skills and learn off-ball movement much better than he did in Houston. His rebounding will also be highly valued in Oklahoma City.

     Jeremy’s mental framework and approach to this change is good. Look for him to be a significant part of this team by mid-November, move up in the rotation or even start games. The Rockets were very shortsighted in trading him, as I believe that, while James Harden is very talented, he will not impact games [in the long run] the way they think.”