Will Harden's choking going to cost BIG for the Rockets in free agency ?

who doesnt wanna join forces with an experienced playoff choker?

it doenst help but his career year with mda and one of mda's best years doesnt hurt either. we're still a top fa destination.

 

Depends what kind of free agents you are talking about.

As long as the walrus and Doug Tony are still in charge, of course players who want inflated offensive numbers while having no liability on defense are going to want to come here.

If you are talking about people who want to win championships by playing selfless basketball and getting down in a defensive stance, they probably look at this whole thing like poison.

Fire the walrus.

 

Nope. We are hungry for talent.

We are still getting whatever scraps the top tier teams leave us.

 

I think players can forgive players for how they play. Not everyone knee jerks. I think people who actually play defense on Harden may hate him, but I believe there is nothing but respect for Harden around the league. Though that doesn't necessarily translate for likeness.

Truthfully, a star like Blake or Hayward may probably not want to play with Harden not because of his skill or his playoff performances, but because it may just damage their own credibility. Minor free agents probably wouldn't care as much about their credibility.

I think Harden lost a lot of respect around the public. I think coaches and players didn't lose respect for him, but they're questioning his mental fortitude. Chris Bosh, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwight Howard all listened way back when. After 2016 even Al Horford still listened. I don't believe that the NBA brotherhood has turned their back on James Harden. Not yet. Basketball fans though? Most of us have turned our backs on him, yeah. It's hard to gauge.

 

y'all are acting like the Rockets are the only team that finished the season on a bad note

the Clippers lost a game 7 at home...there's a good chance that JJ Reddick will leave, Blake stays injured, and CP3 has never even been to a conference finals and is already 32

Indy choked away a 25 point lead in game 3 and then got swept...PG may leave them 1 year from now

Utah got destroyed in the 2nd round and lost their final game by 25 points at home

Chicago is a mess

Toronto is basically Clippers East...known playoff chokers and got swept in the 2nd round

Atlanta might lose Millsap and is the definition of a treadmill team that is going nowhere

OKC has Westbrook, I can't see any star player being excited to go and play with him...plus OKC is not a free agent destination by any means

a lot of these others franchises aren't looking so hot

at the end of the day, Harden will finish 2nd in MVP voting for the 2nd time in 3 years and managed to shed his "selfish chucker" label (always thought this was undeserved) by leading the league in assists, Mike will likely win COY and is a player friendly coach with a system that players would like to play in, and Morey has a good chance of winning EOY...we finished with the 3rd best record in the NBA even tho we only have 1 star player

players look at the whole body of work, they won't let 1 game turn them off from a situation, they're not irrational like a lot of people on here...stop with the knee jerks

 

did currys choking cost him KD?

 

No. Most offensive minded players will give their right testical to play under MDA

 

Gordon, Nene and Anderson resurrected their careers.

I'll say no.

 

Nene was very happy here and wants to return. Ryno said many times during the season that he was having the most fun that he's ever had in his career. Look at what Ego wrote for The Players' Tribune. One game does not erase an entire season. The knee jerk reactions on here are just dumb AF. No player will just cross Houston off of their list because Harden and the rest of the team laid an absolute egg in their final game of the season. Big decisions like choosing a destination in FA aren't based off of 1 moment when there's such a large body of work.

 

Fire maury now

I doubt free agents are lining up to play under Darren Morely as the GM

 

It won't hurt us significantly by July. Yes Harden's reputation was hurt by the last two games, but it was also immensely helped by the season he had before it.

Quite honestly, the way the season ended showed Harden NEEDS another All-Star that can take some of the pressure off of him and for the team to take the next step - which isn't unreasonable.

Very few single-star teams make it any further than Harden has taken the Rockets over the last 5 years. He chokes because he often feels the need to do everything in crunch time when in reality he just needs more options he can trust (and yes, to trust his existing options more).

 

You tell us.

Will DMO consider us when he becomes a free agent?

 

A Robert De Niro with Triple Chin from FTW's diet.

 

I think free agents will look at this team as a great opportunity to get in the playoffs and help take this team to the next level. The good ones, at any rate. The players who want to win more than simply wanting a big paycheck. And we won 55 games, which is a hell of a lot better than damn near anyone thought we could do at the start of the season. It's obvious that we are still missing a piece or two (or 3). Some players will see themselves as one of the difference makers for the Rocks if they sign with us. In my opinion, we'll have a better shot at a top free agent this summer than we had last summer. I'm confident that Morey can create the cap space if he needs to.

I'm as wrecked by how this series ended as anyone, wrecked and wondering what the hell happened, besides losing Nene to injury, but I've seen this reaction before. The Rockets aren't a basketball playing Hindenburg, even if, "Oh, the humanity!" might have been something I could have shouted in my living room at the end of game 5, and during game 6. Wish I had thought of it (would have made a good headline on the front page, Clutch). It's the end of our season, not the end of the world, and the way the season ended won't cost us anyone, in my opinion. What will matter is if guys want to play in Houston, if they want to play for MDA, and the money. That, and Daryl has to deliver.

 

This epic Playoff flame out is too fresh. We will see in a couple months if people remember the Rockets for game 5 and 6 or they remember the Rockets were picked to finish 8th in the west but almost got to the WCF.

Nba players aren't immune to media bias and narratives. It could certainly impact free agency.

 

Thankfully, free agents are not as emotional & knee jerk as fans.

 

free agents be like

 

It won't matter.
For roleplayers it won't matter because their no.1 priority is $. Pay them and they will come.
For stars it won't matter because they wouldn't come here anyway to play off the ball and be relegated to roleplayers.

So it doesn't matter.

 

It's the ball dominance that will turn them off