that's absolutely silly ... What makes Harden untouchable or a max contract worthy player ? He is the third best player on that team but without Ibaka there ... the OKC interior would breakdown and their perimeter defense would be exposed ... Anyone that pays a max contract to Harden will regret it ... Hes not a top 20 talent in the NBA ... There is absolutely nothing that he has done that would prove otherwise ... When was the last time Harden dropped 40 ? or had a triple double ? He plays solid defense and scores 17 points a game mainly against other teams second units and his usage is very very high ... He has a total green light with the second unit... Over valued talent ... Never going to be an perennial all star player ... don't get me wrong ... he is very good but this post describes him as a hidden gem of some sort ... If you want to gush over some hidden gems that potentially have an extremely bright future ... talk about paul george ( even as a third option .. he can make a case to be a superstar -- way more upside than harden can ever have) ... evan turner (a forgotten draft pick that was buried on the bench that now is playing over 30 minutes in a saturated team of great wing players ... shows flashes of absolute brilliance ... give him a starting spot and 35 minutes a game as a primary option and see him flourish into a superstar) ... dare I say Jeremy Lin ... ersan illysova (this monster is a rebounding machine with a blossoming offensive game and plays great defense and hustle points every game ... again surrounded by competition) ... lets talk about a role player like Landry fields (that despite intense competition ... underperforming super stars and new yorks bright lights ... produces effective efficient play all year) ... Lets talk Rodney Stuckey (despite the likes of gordon and horrible detroit team ... has been a formiddable player in the starting guard positions) If we were to ever part with Lowry ... I would want the likes of players like Tyreke Evans ... John Wall ... Kyrie Irving ... stephen curry ... Anyways the point I was trying to make was Harden isn't worth the max or even a franchise type of player tag ... He is no better than anyone i mentioned above and hell other than maybe the last four PG's I mentioned ... NONE OF THEM ARE MAX WORTHY players
I am fully awake ... Compare Goran's performances with Collison's when Paul went down in NO ... =) ... be honest ... Who played better and had better stats and more victories and more buzz ... Goran or Collison ... Where is Collison now ? ... Collison is just one example my friend ... If you are going to judge someone as a starting PG caliber player ... You have to take into account his Whole body of work and the competition he is up against ... How many of you thought Leandro Barbosa would be amazing else where ? or hell lets go back to Rockets history ... What did sam cassell accomplish in his career after he left here ? ... many thought Sam given the chance would be an all star all the time ... What happened to the George Hill is better than Tony Parker chants ??? Where is George Hill now ?? I can keep going and going on this topic ... The reality is 1 out of 10 guys that are judged on the performance of when they play due to a starters injury pan out as great players on another or the same team ... and I am being generous on the 1 out of 10 ... If Goran wants a starting job in the NBA or even be considered and up and coming talent ... He will have to prove it by taking minutes away from a HEALTHY Lowry ... and No one answered my question ... name some Teams in the league that would build around Goran Dragic right now as their PG future ... ???
Based on what reality my friend ?? what are you basing that statement on ... which NBA experts share your opinion ?? You are simply in love with the beard .. I get it ... but come on face reality ... Lets go take a GM survey in the NBA and find out if you would have Tyreke EVans or Harden ... How about Joe Johnson or Harden ... there is Iguadala ... there is pierce ... there is paul george ... there is ray allen (ok he is old but come one ) ... there is genobli (injury and age ... i get it but hes amazing) ... you can't discount our own Courtney Lee ... Evan Turner ain't no chump if you factor in future potential ... your telling me Rudy Gay is worse? ... then there was Eric Gordon ... There is no tangible evidence that Harden is any better than any of the guys im mentioning ... Your opinion is just that ... an opinion ... Back your statement up by some tangible evidence of your claim ...
Collison is 6 foot nothing, 160 with crap defense, Dragic is 6'4", 180 with great defense. Bad comparison.
mzsajjad why the hell do you think Harden was the third overall pick by a front office which is GREAT at draft day decisions. Because he has superstar potential. And this year he is already performing like an all star at age 22.
PORTLAND! You are automatically assuming Goran is going to become like Collison. For every Collison you can come up with, I can come up with a Kyle Lowry and then some. You can't make that assumption. If Goran continues to ball like he is now throughout the rest of this season and he propels this team into a playoff run, he will have earned a sizable contract and a starting gig in the NBA. And whatever happens beyond that is speculation.
Bwahahahahahahahahaha!!! Anybody that wants to bring up Tyreke Evans in regards to top shooting guards in the league isn't worthy a response.
I wasn't comparing .. their size ... i was comparing their body of work ... your argument is the only thing bad in my comparison lol
Their body of work like the fact that Goran has proven himself for years to be a quality player while always being stuck behind a VERY good point guard? Collison was a rookie... not proven at all.
again learn how to make a tangible argument ... what position he was drafted at by a team that drafts well doesn't answer any of the questions posed ... ?
What questions posed? You didn't even mention any. You just made ad hominem arguments and other stupid unpersuasive crap. You can't even write two sentences without ellipses. And you think Tyreke Evans is better than Harden. That alone is enough to:
What about Kyle Lowry ? Kyle was in an extremely competitive environment of a 3 PG rotation in Memphis ... He outplayed all 3 of them and earned his minutes and spot light WHILE THEY WERE HEALTHY ... again learn how to make a tangible argument ... The ONLY reason memphis was stupid enough to give Lowry away was because they felt their investment in CONLEY (high draft pick and contract along with ONLY future "potential" ) was too high and the competition with Lowry was hindering his growth ... WELL THEY WERE WRONG ... If you can actually give me similar scenarios to the one Goran is in ... and some how name more players that made it than not ... I will admit i am an idiot =) ... but you can't so I suggest you you rethink your argument ... I can compare Goran to Collison because its a valid argument that was very recent ... and it was the same EXACT scenario of a team having a point guard controversy where people thought Collison could start based on how he performed when Paul ( a great PG like Lowry was injured )... The NO GM was smart and chose to keep Paul and trade Collison =) ... Smart Decision ... something Morey should follow if he is smart ...
You're completely delusional if you think the Rockets want or need to amnesty Scola. If we don't keep him, he will be easy to trade. Furthermore, he's basically the same player as Gasol, minus a few inches, plus a huge heart, and for half the price. Finally, Hibbert really isn't that special.
Portland wouldn't build around Goran over Felton or a draft pick ... Ill bet you money on that ... Felton isnt much better than Goran but neither is worth building a future around ... Your wrong my friend
You........are a rookie. You convolute everything. Portland will sign Dragic in a heartbeat at the PG spot over Felton. And they're not the only one.
Why don't we start an oppinion board that says ... who is the better player with more upside that you would rather have on your team ... Harden or Tyreke Evans and see what everyone says ... I think Tyreke evans either wins or its extremely close ... Let me help you more everyone more so you understand what I am saying ... http://www.nba.com/playerfile/tyreke_evans/ http://www.nba.com/playerfile/james_harden/ after carefully going through both players body of work ... How exactly do you claim Harden to be clearly a better player or choice ? make your arguments based on facts please ... no stupid opinions ...
Because Harden is playing significantly better this year than Evans has at any point in his career--and Harden is less, not more, experienced than Evans.
They chose to keep Jamal Crawford on the bench who had some amazing performances this year when he was given the starting nod ... They will not pursue the likes of Dragic in free agency ... much less promise him the starting gig ... Dragic will get a max of 8 million a year from a team to solidify its back court and will not play more than 25 - 30 minutes a game unless injuries take place ... Again no team will give him the reign's to their team and future based on his CURRENT BODY OF WORK ... that doesn't mean that he will never start for a team ... it simply means he is not an elite talent at this CURRENT JUNCTURE OF HIS CAREER
I'm glad I'm not the GM. I would want to win with Lowry no matter what. I guess my heart's too invested in the matter now. Just get'er done Morey. Don't listen to us fans. Do the right thing.
