(The Athletic) James Harden is in the prime of his life. Daryl Morey needs to capitalize on it now

Would REP if could


Edit: I’m serious

 

buy a subscription if you want to read it. Someone posting their article on here is basically piracy.

 

Good point.

Can't put it past the internet to have a good chunk of 'special' people to put a whiny spin on things.

 

Nothing new in here.

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The beginning of Trade Deadline Week should serve as a timely reminder that the Western Conference waits for no one. Hell, even LeBron is in on the anticipation.

From the perspective of team-building and competitive balance, the markets can be a gift or a curse, depending on whether you’re a buyer or seller.

Out West, it’s buyers galore. And it’s partly Daryl Morey’s fault. In 2018, the league watched (and secretly hoped) as Houston built a roster hellbent on vanquishing Golden State, and it almost came to fruition had a certain hamstring remained unpulled.

In the six months since, Morey has seen LeBron James take his talents to Hollywood, DeMarcus Cousins join the Warriors, Paul George re-up with the Thunder and Luka Doncic fall in the lap of Dallas, which just traded for Kristaps Porzingis. And if all of that wasn’t troubling enough, he has to come to grips with the possibility of Anthony Davis joining the Lakers, if not this season then next.

Yes, James Harden is playing the best basketball of his 10-year career. As of Feb. 4, he had scored at least 30 points in 26 consecutive games. Harden said almost two months ago that the MVP race was all but finished, and his play sure as hell supports it.

Morey and the front office can’t let it go to waste. As it stands, the Warriors and Nuggets are better teams. Oklahoma City is much improved. Even Portland is hanging around in the mix. It’s not guaranteed that Houston can get back to the conference finals, especially with the roster as currently constructed. One look at this team can show you the deficiencies it’s had for more than half a season.

Chris Paul is no spring chicken. The glut of wing depth that could be relied on last year is gone. Toronto has that now. Milwakuee has that now. The Rockets are incredibly small outside of Clint Capela, who’s injured. The defense isn’t there. The rebounding isn’t there. Harden is having to play a ton of minutes. What’s a wheeling-and-dealing GM to do?

That’s what makes the Feb. 7 trade deadline and the March buyout market so intriguing for the Rockets. Was last season the best championship opportunity of the James Harden era? If not, does Morey have enough creativity to work more magic with his limited funds and a shortage of attractive young assets? That he was willing to offer four first-round picks for Jimmy Butler is proof that he knows he needs more firepower, and yet the team’s most notable additions this season have been Austin Rivers and Kenneth Faried.

It’s been a weird season, to say the least. The Rockets’ “big win” profile is impressive, with Houston boasting the most wins in the West over opponents with records over .500. Two wins over Golden State (albeit one without Curry), as well as victories over Toronto, Boston, Oklahoma City, Denver and more. But against inferior opponents, Houston is 11-10. The Rockets have no business losing to Cleveland, Washington, New Orleans (twice!), just to name a few. Their biggest problems remain on the defensive end and in the rebounding department, which is why the stunning Porzingis trade may have been of interest to Morey in more ways than one.

Former first-team All-Defense teamer and Houston native DeAndre Jordan was sent from Dallas to New York as part of that deal, and Chris Paul’s former running mate could seek a buyout from the Knicks ahead of the March 1 deadline. Do the Rockets need him given what they already have in Capela?

Consider this. In 50 games this year, opponents are shooting 55.2 percent at the rim with Jordan on the floor, a number that jumps to 63 percent when he sits. By comparison, teams shoot 60 percent within six feet of the rim with Capela on the floor, and 62 percent with him off. Rumor has it a bit of Jordan’s lift is no longer there, which explains the slight decline in rebounds (13.7) and blocks (1.1).

But Houston wouldn’t need him for more than 20 minutes a game, if that. Faried is on the roster as well now, so the flow of the game really would dictate who would be needed.

It would be impractical if not impossible for the Houston to bring in Jordan via trade this season, as they do not have much expiring salary and the Knicks acquired him in an ambitious gambit to create enough cap space for two max players this offseason. That said, the Rockets would be incredibly well situated to bring the Houston native home if he ends up being bought out. They still have almost $4 million remaining of their taxpayer mid-level exception, allowing Jordan to make more than the standard prorated minimum salary for buyout recipients. He may prioritize playing time, which may be dicey with the Rockets once Capela returns, but the proximity, money and opportunity to play in the postseason again may be enough to make him commit.

Deandre Jordan was non-committal about being with the Knicks for the rest of the season, and says the NBA is a business. He would be a natural candidate to be shopped again before the deadline or bought out afterward.

And if not Jordan, whom might Morey be considering?

When asked on Jan. 3 how active he thought he’d be at the trade deadline, Morey told The Athletic‘s Sam Amick, “So what do they say — buyers vs. sellers? We’re definitely a buyer. … I think we’ve been trying to win the title for a while, and we had a couple years before we got James where we probably didn’t have as much of a chance to win, where we were probably a little more future-focused.

But since James has been here we’ve been buyers at the deadline, and hopefully something comes along that we think can help our chances to win the title. We’ve had a few years where we don’t, so we don’t force it, but we’re going to be looking for something to hopefully upgrade the team.”

The Porzingis move to Dallas puts Morey at an even bigger urge to improve his team. The Mavericks are no longer a punching bag in the Southwest. Doncic has already proven to be a thorn in Houston’s side — the Mavs have won both meetings with Houston already.

What the rest of the conference does at the trade deadline and beyond bears watching, too. The Warriors are just now seeing what they have in Cousins, and Golden State has kept its 15th roster spot open for some time now. Do they shore up their big-man depth? Kevon Looney and Jordan Bell are fine players, but Jordan would most certainly be an upgrade. What about their wings? The Warriors aren’t one of those teams that have a bevy of 3&D guys — but newly traded Knick and buyout candidate Wes Matthews would bring toughness, versatility and outside shooting.

The bottom line for Morey is that other contenders aren’t standing pat, and he can ill afford to, either. He has repeatedly stressed that he wants to have the best version of his team headed into the playoffs. So now we wait.

 

This is why we have Chris Paul on his contract.

I’m cool with it, but people quickly forget and lose their minds.

 

Prime of his life? Is this ground for racist.

Just in his prime. Prime of his life. What is that supposed to mean?

 

Yeah, and people will whine about that later. See Ryno

 

Nope, we all know Tilman already thinks this season is a wash and just wants to save money.

Otherwise why haven't we signed House yet?

Also because of Morey's mistakes with CP0 and an Anderson contract that is still haunting us, we can't make any moves.

 

for the love of Gawd, I like House too, but the way some of us are clamoring for this dude like he is the missing piece is ridiculous.

 

No, bad teams have to overpay. Teams like the Lakers and the Knicks do this and that’s why they haven’t seen a lot of success in the modern NBA. Most(but not all) good teams in the modern area take a more measured approach - the Spurs, Raptors, Warriors, Jazz, Rockets, and Celtics have all been more conservative and haven’t overpaid for anything less than a star and all those teams have sustained success over the last 5-7 years.

 

I believe he can be an add on piece for a trade. However, if he isn't, then he could be useful, if he puts his head together and comes to a mutual compromise with management, if they want to bring him back.

 

TL;DR- Harden gud, but the bench is trash. MURRY DO SOMETHING

 

That's why he did the Chris Paul trade

 

LOL what kind of straws are you grasping at?

He's making probably a million bi-weekly when you include endorsements. He is 100% in the prime of his life.

 

why do people call Tilman cheap? Is Morey ever going to be held accountable. Going on 14 years now of bad luck

cp3= unnecessary max contract
Harden= max
capela=max
Gordon= near max
Tucker=average
Ryno = a max contract that snowballed into a bunch of bad contracts.
Nene= too high

 

i think it means the prime of his life idk

 

And some people mentioning him in trades like other teams are suppose to say throw in house and it’s a deal.

 

We had to give CP3 that deal. We don't and we're left with a depleted roster and 8mil in cap space.

Of course Beard is on the max.
Of course Capela is on the max.
Gordon makes less than half of a max deal
Tucker is on a team friendly deal
Ryno was under Leslie Alexander
Nene makes less than double the minimum who cares

Not to say there isn't blame to put on Morey but Tilman is a cheapo b*stard

 

A big man is desperately needed, even with capela back. They are available.

House would be a much better option for the team over Ennis.

Rivers has fallen back to mean

 

And what a magnificent prime it is