Who stays, who goes? is it a rebuild or a retool? your predictions

If the option is trade Harden, then a couple more things have to happen.

Morey needs to get neutered and keep his nose out of basketball strategy and let whatever coach they hire do his thing. I liked it better when he was finding the Lowry's of the world, while Adelman figured out how to use them.

This team without Harden is still the same team as far as wins go. Lawson/Dwight PNR, with shooters is probably good enough for the eighth seed, plus whatever haul you can get for Harden, hopefully from a team with some unrealized talent, like the Magic.

And as I type that, it saddens me to think of what this team could've been if Harden was used as an off the ball threat with his shooting and passing. Same stats and glory, better efficiency, just had to work a little harder.

 

This is probably one of the worst posts I've ever read on Clutchfans.

 

I think Howard cares about winning, and I feel like that team would be a top 5 team in the west.

We could just take back Chandler and wait until the right deal for him becomes available for him. Teams need centers and with the cap rise hopefully his contract won't look so bad. He also isn't awful, he's still a solid starter even at his age for some reason.

Don't know what your saying for that last part lol.

 

If the deal is for Ariza Howard Thornton for Booker Warren Chandler Morris and a first rounder then it's more fair. (no idea if the contracts match just value wise).
BUT Chandlers' contract is an albatross it's bad value no matter the cap rise because of the length of it in his age. There are simply too many centers right now who are younger and healthier.
It won't be easy to find a deal to dump him.

I don't know what's Howard's priority only he knows. But if he thinks he can get the money and go to a more desirable market or a team with another star he could prefer it over commiting himself to Phoenix (which btw has two really chucking chuckers and his touches will be even less than here).
I think he would prefer to explore the market and see if NY or Indiana or Chicago or Boston or Dallas are interested. (all teams with better markets than Phoenix except Indy that has a superstar on their roster).

I meant that my first choice would be to talk with Chicago and Boston and then OKC for Ariza.

I think Howard won't be cooperative to commit to a team before exploring the market. He also has a powerful agent and I think he will have his influence.

 

Stay:
1. Harden, Ariza, Beverly, JET, Brewer, DMo (best post game on team), KJ, and Capella

Goes
1. Dwight, Tjones, and Lawson

Retool, with incoming trades, but do it early to allow team to jell...

 

I would absolutely NOT trade Harden. Not unless you're getting a superstar in return like when the Sonics were able to acquire Ray Allen in exchange for Gary Payton back in 2002. What I would do though is hire a coach who'll demand accountability from Harden. If he's gonna keep having nights where he mentally checks out when he doesn't get a few foul calls and doesn't even try on the defense end and even a disciplinarian as his coach makes no difference, THEN I consider dealing him away.

In the meantime, I do think a rebuild is in order. It doesn't have to be a long one since the team does have several assets at the moment, but a few tweaks ain't gonna get it done. We need a reliable PF who can rebound the ball. We need another playmaker since Lawson clearly isn't getting it done. We need consistent shooters. And most importantly, we need a coach who can implement a solid offense and defensive system.

I would give serious thought to tanking the rest of this season. There's no logic in struggling to make the playoffs just to get swept by the Warriors or Spurs and losing that first round pick to Denver. Blow up the roster, give valuable playing time to Capela, Harrell, and D-Mo(who needs to regain his form from last year), and start to look toward the future instead of trying in vain to salvage this season which seems like an exercise in futility at this point.

 

It is dangerous once you go down that route. You either do it completely or you don't.

Halfway doing a rebuild and waiting until Harden is "unhappy" and wants to go LA and join some of his buds there. Meanwhile his game might drop off even more. (sure we all hope he matures but hey he is 26 already and I know Wade was about to win his first championship with 24 or 25 something)

He is not interested in any legacy when he retires. That is concerning.

 

I would go down that road, but commit to it immediately(i.e. right now). I don't think we're looking at a 4-5 year rebuild. There is a lot of talent on this roster. It's just not fitting together here for a multitude of reasons. So get what you can for that talent(save for a few pieces like Harden, Capela, and a few others) and then rebuild through the draft and free agency. And by free agency, I mean signing role players. Stop swinging for the fences for superstars. Use the draft for that.

 

Harden is the only untouchable player on this team .

But try to keep Dmo, Capela, Bev and Ariza

 

1) I have been saying that from the start that we should start utilizing the draft more, pushing hard for the Top 5 picks again.

2) I think good for you that you trust Harden but I do not. I think he needs a better player put in front of him and wake the hell up.

He is preoccupied mentally with the wrong things, fame and all, what to do with Khloe that he has lost track of what is so great about having a legacy

 

I didn't say I trust Harden, just that I'm not ready to give up on him yet. He can lead a team as its primary superstar. He showed that last year during the regular season with an average supporting cast in a brutal Western Conference. But he clearly has a lot of maturing to do, and I do believe a tougher head coach can help him in that regard.

By all accounts, Coach K had a profound influence on Harden in the summer of 2014 which helped pave the way for his almost MVP season last year. There's no reason that can't happen again only this time not just for a few weeks during the offseason provided Morey and Les go out and hire a competent coach this time.

 

Harden should not be untouchable he is a big part of the problem. If we do not get a coach that can convince Harden to actually care about playing on both ends of the court you will change all of the pieces around him but get the same results. Your superstar has to want to win and play hard then the others will follow him.

 

Sure a coach can have an impact. But you forgot Coach K and the Olympians were just together couple of months.

They bonded and that was with the entire group. (the whole experience package)

They had a good group of coaches as well as the best defensive and offensive athletes and most driven ones that could inspire someone like Harden.

You cannot have the best of the best that represents the US on the Rox, not possible.

At that same time, he had no girl friends whatsoever, that will come with certainty, distractions are part of life.....he has to learn and deal with them

 

Not ready to pull the plug on Harden just yet. That seems a bit too extreme as without him this season we would be down with the Lakers. Trevor Ariza seems one to keep too, he's the one who gets the difficult defensive tasks like last night when he played Center having the task of guarding Cousins. No wonder he is gassed offensively and cant make shots.

Keep- Harden, Ariza, Beverley, Capela, D-Mo, Terry (need a leader), Trez

Trade options- Howard, Jones, Brewer, Lawson, KJ, Thronton (defense worse than Harden) , Dekker

 

Nobody said we should give up on him, however, one way is to discipline him like a kid, bench him for a couple of games

other way is try to acquire a leader, someone that helps Harden mature and not goof around like Dwight but better player offensively

make him the No 2 of the team and how that feels to him, he has thrived as the 6th man and I think all he got to do is swallow his ego that has gotten too big

 

All I know is this team has become unwatchable.

 

Exactly!!!!

 

I agree he is one of the best on offense in the league but is aloof negative body language and lack of defense is definitely influencing the other players.

Was watching Cavs- Celtics last night and Lebrons was completely different. From the first play he was aggressive defensively forcing turnovers. Cavs are a terrible team without Kyrie, but his leadership has kept them at the top. Not saying Harden has to be Lebron defensively but a bit of aggression and more engagement isn't much to ask. Harden definitely has a different personality than when he arrived in 2012, all the fame, Adidas contract and celebrities has gone to his head. I do believe that no big name free agents will want to play with him. LaMarcus would have been perfect fit in Houston, but thinking about it now why would he want to play with Harden when he could have gone to the Spurs. Harden and Howard just aren't liked that much. Even though they're friends Durant 2016 is now probably a 0.00001% chance!!

I genuinely believe we need a tough coach like Thibs, even if it means Morey playing less of a role with the way we play, as these bricks are killing us. I love JB but the players obviously still see him as a assistant coach and don't respect him, and we must be the softest team in the league. That has to change.

 

I'd rather keep DH12. Haren has to go.

 

IF a rebuild happens it can't wait. It must happen in the next two months otherwise it will be too late and we will lose one of our two biggest assets for nothing and another positive value asset too.
You also can't say "keep Ariza" because he's the player with the most value in this roster apart from Harden. If we keep him then there is no rebuilding, there is no "blow up".
If you trade trash you get trash back and almost every other player's value is trash or even worse, negative trash.