It's precisely the fact that we've dodged it thus far that it would be more likely. MDA will not get him reduced minutes, and he is not one to accept reduced minutes. He is who he is in its entirety.
If even one of Tucker, Gordon or Capela gets injured, it's going to be an Ugly One Man show. The record will take care of 'itself'.
So people with no history of injuries are due for an injury? And that injury will lead to a steap decline when decline does not even work that way, cmon man. That remains to be seen, I've faith we'll see his minutes reduced...one day lol.
Is our goal to win a championship or bask in the glory of a MVP player on a .500 team? I want to improve the roster and eventually return to title contention. We're limited in tradable assets with significant value, so we're forced to draft well and sign the best minimum players possible. Knowing Morey's track record of picks in the middle of the first round, I'd rather sacrifice one season to get a lottery player.
OP's suggestion isn't as ludicrous as some of you would like to portray. I don't think it's gonna happen though. Make no mistake this will be a threadmill season for the Rockets, and who knows maybe Morey will do his magic in the offseason and we can re-open our window of contending.
At least we already have Harden. Finding a superstar is much harder than landing a decent supporting cast during the offseason. I think Morey won't disappoint.
i'd be ok with this. if we have an mvp in his prime and can barely make the playoffs, we need to rebuild around him. the other issue is the $40M/yr we owe paul to play fewer games each year. we need cheap, underpaid, improving, talent for the remainder of paul's contract to offset his cost/production ratio. the best way to do that is to acquire draft picks, shed cost, and use the MLE wisely. lets say we made the following moves: 1) ego for a pick and an ending contract 2) tucker for a pick and an ending contract 3) keep our own lotto pick 4) bought a late first for cash 5) used our own second and a future second to move up to the top of the second with those 5 picks, draft the most nba ready players available. lower ceilings but ready to contribute right away. with hart and clark that's 7 prospects on rookie deals who are improving, competing for minutes, and locked in long term. if only 3/7 pan out we still have a better bench than gerald, house, nene. 6) use knight's expiring contract over the summer to add a proven player by offering cap savings. james johnson or mo harkless are two targets who's teams would like to clear them off the cap. 7) use the MLE on another proven vet (we could afford it after moving ego/tucker for ending contracts and picks). aminu, and carroll are a couple guys that could fit. this year we only have 5 real nba players: paul, harden, ego, tucker, capela. paul will miss time, ego is slipping, and tucker is getting older. if we follow this quick rebuild plan we could have the same number of proven players (paul, harden, capela, MLE signing, and whoever we get in the knight trade). but we would also be adding a lotto pick, 3 other firsts, and a high second. that's way more potential, durability, athleticism than we have now, and they'd be cheaper too. we wouldn't be a contender next year but we'd be a playoff team which is more than we are now, and we'd be getting better each year rather than aging players declining each year.
Dwyane Wade has narrower shoulders and a lame neutral pelvis which made him less durable. Harden has a sturdy wide frame and cool anterior pelvic tilt that makes him a long-haul rider.
Yes. Everyone is due for an injury in their career. Like I said, it would be a historical miracle if he logged this many minutes and free throws without every having a major injury. We are bringing it on.
He's locked up for like 5 years right? We'd have plenty of time to win back his favor. Regardless it isn't going to happen; we all know what is going to happen. We'll be up and down for 2 more years finishing in the middle of the pack, then trade CP3's contract with all our young players to get off of his last year.
