Harden: "Dwight and I are the cornerstones of the Rockets. The rest of the guys are role players..."

You see what I mean. That cancerous attitude only homers here will defend. I'm not on either side with parsons or harden, this whole organization is guilty.

 

Or if Harden/Dwight were good looking.

 

Where was this poll taken?

 

This is the most overblown "feud' ever.

Harden's position towards the Rockets hasn't changed. Parsons is the one who bailed to another team in a goofy way.

I don't really care if 66k people across the nation disagree with me - Parsons is the guy I dislike in this situation.

 

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/polls

 

Cool thanks. It looked like an ESPN poll but I didn't think they cared about the Rockets enough to create some fake feud.

 

They care about Chandler Parsons because Chandler Parsons is likable and handsome.

I blame the Harden statement on Morey. Harden says this because Morey says it to him all the time. Morey also defends Harden's lazy defense in public and does not challenge Harden.

When a talking parrot speaks curse words you know it's because the parrot learned it from the human who raises it.

 

Kick rocks!

 

It's not the smartest choice of words or showing of leadership on Harden's part, and it probably doesn't do much for the team's cohesiveness. But at least he's not trying to shirk responsibility for the team's lack of success in the playoffs. He's saying at the end of the day it's on him and Howard. If he said something else, people would probably be saying he doesn't want to step up and be a leader.

 

This just in: ESPN and ESPN fans don't like the rockets. Shocking I know, seeing as how much love ESPN throws at the rockets on the regular.

 

They picked Rockets to beat POR though. .. just saying.

 

A blind squirrel occasionally finds a nut.

 

This poll was taken from girls aged 12-17.

 

I think Morey's success despite the constraint from Les of no tanking has given credence to his methodology. Namely:
1) Use of analytics to scout players and valuate their contract
2) Frequent transactions to increase the value of assets even if it's for miniscule incremental improvement (whether in player skill or cap flexibility)
3) Creative use of contract structure to take advantage of CBA rules/loopholes to take calculated risks on players
4) Play an analytics influenced system that artificially increases value of assets because of higher efficiency without need to develop chemistry (3pt and lay ups)
5) Understand that Houston may not be a great or popular destination thus the need to trade for the first star and attract a second and third star through FA (Rox experience trading for a star hasn't been all that great due to "basketball reasons" and it's easy to see how a 3rd star is unlikely to get here through a trade)

A side effect of all this is that only stars are valued, everyone else is replaceable. The more successful Morey is at locating talent, the more likely it is that he'll increase frequency of transaction. Anything that prevents/slows the exchange of assets (like a player option) is poison. Perhaps because Houston is not a popular destination, there was a need for Morey to trade for his first star in the hopes that he'll attract the second and third stars. Morey seems dead set on having 3 star players to contend, so until he gets his third star, everyone is replaceable (think PPat). This is made more evident by the high turnover of players. Some moves were made for the sake of making moves it seems (think Brooks). Length of tenure or significance of contribution did not render any player safe (think Parsons, Asik, and Lin). This attitude of treating everyone as assets is pervasive, most evident on CF, so it's not surprising that Harden may feel the same way or uses similar language even if he didn't mean to be callous. How many "goodbye asset" posts have we seen on CF? I blame this more on Morey than on Harden.

It doesn't mean Rox won't win a championship, but this method of team building comes with a cost. With LeBron no longer the villain, Rox is the team that is easy to hate with all the recent PR missteps.

 

Who do i want to win and who do i think will win aren't really the same question.

Miami would have never been favored for anything, if the former determined that position.

 

Harden started in OKC, which along with the rest of the Spurs outreach programs, doesn't view role player as a dirty word, and that understanding your place in the system is how the system is maximized. Ir's Morey's fault for letting a role player get a big enough head that he feels he's a star.

Of course, it might just be an accident that the Spurs, OKC, Atlanta etc don't seem to have any Dan Fegan clients.

 

Being a leader requires more than just calling yourself a cornerstone. Being a leader means you actually set an example for the rest of the crew by, for example, actually trying on defense. Being a leader requires you to motivate the rest of the team and let them know that they are important to the team's aspirations and are appreciated as teammates-- that they own what the team achieves.

 

+1

Said what I said above in way less words.

 

True, but people tend to answer any question as what they want. They realest truth serum is what you're willing to put money on.

 

Now if only Michael Jordan had known that showing team mates that they were appreciated was good leadership, he might have even won some titles!

Leadership isn't some pigeon holed function you can draw out in a textbook like fashion, you can be a great leader and a gigantic **** at the same time, historically, they're often exactly like that. Take Pop and Phil, 2 great leaders that couldn't be less like each other if they tried.

One common theme with the nba though, is you're rarely if ever successful if your personnel are of the ego stroke variety, Howard seems to finally be getting that, Harden too, but we would have never won anything relying on Parsons until he got it either.