[Ringer] 30 Facts that Will Make or Break the Harden-Westbrook Rockets

Nope you dont want harden as primary pg when both on the floor. Wont happen.

 

Keep watching Westbrook highlights. Keep being depressed at his shot selection.

Even the ones that go in are just awful looks sometimes.

 

Exactly and I have to say I do not see an end game for Daryl Morey where he survives that long for that very reason (unless we win a title or two). I know that Daryl and his fans are very rooted in Houston and his desire is to remain here.

Harden and Westbrook will be extremely expensive and well on this decline in 3 seasons. Most likely the Rockets have to jettison more draft picks if they want to get out from under them. With luxury tax issues, there is a real chance Tilman insists that one or both are gone (assuming neither demands a trade). Houston is an attractive place for free agents, but not attractive enough to get them with a bad team. That means that the Rockets will not be able to really rebuild through free agency.

So the only really rebuild strategy is to get into the top 4 of the draft to save the picks and possibly cobble together assets to trade for a young player like the Mavericks did (Porzingas) and draft well in the top 4.

4-5 years is an eternity in basketball years.

 

still a lot better player than cp3 for our system
and Westbrook has HEART... A tons of heart....

 

It's more stubborn than stupid in Melo's case, but the end result is the same. Hopefully Westbrook will be more malleable.

 

So, the "Why not buy a used German luxury car, still under warranty?" theory of NBA personnel management. It'll be fun, and if it turns out to be impossible to live with, we can easily dump it on another sucker, I mean aficionado, for close to what we paid.

As long as the Rockets don't keep him past while he's still under warranty.

I like it. I'll like it a lot more if the first 25 games show he's adopted @finsraider 's described shooting distribution, upthread.

 

That is what I thought at first, but I really do believe that intelligence played a part as well. I think that Anthony never had to learn boundaries ever on a basketball court and then really did not intellectually or emotionally know how to handle doing what had been instinct for him since he was 8 years old.

 

You know who else had heart?

Iman Shumpert and Corey Brewer..... and they never won the Rockets a damn thing.

 

In their defense, Iman won a championship with the Cavs while Corey Brewer won back to back NCAA championships at Florida. But yea...I hear ya.

 

That's what Clutch was talking about. Those picks looks very distant from now. But those are exactly the things that we will need after Harden fades.

 

And we'll have even fewer picks when we trade more future picks to move Westbrook to avoid the repeater tax in a few years.

 

I'm pretty sure Morey has a contingency plan for if we don't win it all in the next three years: Trade Harden and Westbrook (assuming he's still here) for pics and tank hard enough to safely fall into the 1-4 protection for 2024. If need be, tank again two years later for another top 4 pick.

At least that's what I'd do. I love Harden for what he's done and for his loyalty, but a 34-year-old James Harden going in to 2024-2025 won't be as valuable to our future as two top-4 picks.

 

I'd rather let Harden finish it out here personally. Call me sentimental but I enjoy legends aging and retiring with your team.

 

I'm not totally against that idea. It would be nice if Harden agreed to ride out a rebuild with us in his golden years (34-38ish). But those two traded firsts are going to be a huge factor in our future, one way or the other, and just Harden being on the team guarantees a good enough record to lose them.

Regardless, I'll wait until I see how this year goes before I look seriously that far down the road.

 

Not depressing just factual - a little too factual for some folks around here so it seems. A good number are chosing to bury their heads in the sand and either pretend that this will work smoothly without any effort or hope against hope that all will be well. It really reinforces Clutch's (and my) reservations about this move which doesn't appear to make much basketball sense. I am most concerned that the best example of this pairing working out is the 1973 pairing of Earl Monroe and Walt Frazier which was a totally different era in basketball.

 

31. The trade isn't even consummated yet. Let's see what's the hold up and if the Rockets add a piece that increases probability of success.

 

Couldn't agree more. Tilman won't hesitate to clean house and should things fall apart in the 2019-20 season, I can see him dismissing the whole lot.

 

Brewer made one of the biggest comebacks in po history

shumpert has put cp3 in position to beat golden state.... its not his fault cp3 choked and shot 27% from 3 in po

warriors were begging to be taken down and cp3 choked ...MIA

 

I agree with you. The one exception is if a team offers a lot of assets for Harden and he is agreeable to being moved. With the loss of draft picks and the pick switches, we may need to replenish what we lost.

Even now I don't think fans realize how fortunate we have been to have James Harden. There was a recent graph that came out concerning advances statistics that were adjusted for pace/league etc...... and James Harden's 2018-2019 season compared almost identically to the best season Michael Jordan had. If not for bad luck, James Harden would have three MVP's right now and a second place finish in the past 5 seasons........ that is an incredibly elite level.

 

I think it's just that you can shoot much better if you pick your spots. We don't pick our spots. Look at Harden's/EG's 3s. Both could easily be 40% 3P but we would be much weaker as a team

This is a gimmick defense. If people play like this, Russ will be seizing these opportunities to consistently knock down open 3s. Then they won't play like this.