Philly could make this happen if they give us Embiid. They just have to get Wiggins from Minny which will cost them at least Ben Simmons, Saric, and an unprotected future first. Simmons would have to come back and prove he is something special first. Honestly, if I am Philly I say yes considering James is locked up for at least 2 more seasons. Sure, Harden would be disgruntled but he would get them to the playoffs in the east and that team is hungry for Ws. Okafor Noel Harden Honestly, this is Moreyball in a nut shell. Collect assets until you can trade for a superstar player.
well I just learned in the Dish that Harden is being traded to Boston for three assets, according to sauces. true story.
I would just because they're both 22 and we could re-sign both to 5 year contracts. Not because its fair value (although I see both as multi time allstars), but because it would be a nice duo to rebuild around. I don't think we are going to win a ring with Harden, and while its nice to have and watch a top 5 player currently, we are just prolonging a inevitable and necessary rebuild to have a shot at a ring in the future.
Why Embiid? Wouldn't it make more sense for the thread to ask about Wiggins and Towns? Towns is a much safer long-term prospect than Embiid at this point, and he actually plays on the same team as Wiggins. Honestly, though, I don't think it would have an impact on my answer regardless. Harden has arguably been the best player in the league this season. He gives you a chance to win every night, and he makes the Rockets a playoff team by himself for the next 5+ season. Wiggins and Towns combined can't even make Minnesota a playoff team, and they have a long ways to go to even get in the top 10 conversation. If I'm Morey, you don't immediately hang up the phone on the Wolves, but you don't take more than five minutes to think about it before turning them down.
I was wondering, was he injured in any way recently? He did look a little sluggish against the Rockets.
If you look at teams that win championships, almost all of them have a top 10 player on their roster. A lot of times even have 2. Andrew Wiggins isn't close to that. ESPN NBA rank has him 45th. Sports Illustrated has him 67th. Obviously those rankings aren't the end all, but gives a decent estimate. Embiid is so new and raw it's hard to have any idea where he would be rated. If we trade Harden for Wiggins and Embiid, then we are hoping that one or both of them will develop. Maybe they will, maybe they won't. That's not even taking into account Embiid's injury history. You said "you don't think we are going to win a ring with Harden" and it's true that he can't do it himself. But he is already a top 10 player and has a legitimate claim for a top 5 player. We need to build the right pieces around him to compete. If we had Wiggins and Embiid, we would just be hoping that they stayed healthy, that they developed, that their projections were true... and even after that we would still need to build around them in a similar way that we need to do now around Harden.
He got injured way back in last season. Ever since then he took a huge time to come back, put on 15 pounds and is in minutes restriction. Also his effort has been horrendous and his stamina worse than as a rookie. The only hope is that he does this on purpose to get himself traded otherwise....things dont' look good for his future career.
I don't think this is necessarily a bad trade. We all know its never going to happen, so anyone getting outraged is being ridiculous. Harden is a proven elite player, Wiggins and Embiid have the potential to be. However a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. If I were a gambling man, I'd probably take it. You get more youthful, extend the Rocket's championship window by what, 5 years? Right now the world is betting on GSW to win it all and if they prove themselves to be as elite as the media makes them out to be then it might be better to extend the window. However I'm not a gambling man. I think the Rockets are 2 major moves away from elite status. If we want to get there, it's going to take a Whiteside or Cousins or Deandre Jordan to maximize Harden's potential. Then maybe 1 more. IMO only. Lets see how well Beverley 40% 3s does when he comes back Thursday. We will get a small taste of how great we can be. Also DMO needs to stop being a lil itch. I never thought I would miss him, but he would add a new dynamic and pick n pop.
That's pretty unlikely, chief. The kid has shown fantastic potential, but in the two and a half years since he's been drafted, he's played a total of seven games. It's far, far more likely that he becomes the next Greg Oden than that he becomes the next Dream. And that's not to say anything about his talent. He's a better NBA player right now than Oden ever was at any point in his NBA career. But if he couldn't play a single NBA game for the first two seasons of his career, what's the likelihood that he's going to have a relatively healthy career? And that's the primary reason, IMO, why you don't take Embiid and Wiggins over Harden. Harden has proven to be an iron man. Embiid has played less than three weeks of basketball more than two years. I'd take Harden without question.
I agree... way overcomplicated the scenario. Wiggins and Towns for Harden... if I'm the Rockets I absolutely do this. And I love Harden. But I can't let the Harden stat lovefest overlook some simple facts. Wiggins HAS taken a step up, and at this point, three years into his career, he is a more impressive player than 3 years in Harden. I don't think Wiggins ever has that creator in him that Harden has, but Wiggins will continue to improve as a ballhandler and creator. But the dude is putting up 26 points, 50%+ threes, 9 free throws a game. He's a VERY polished offensive player already. And has the ability to be a better defender than James. And then there's Towns who is quietly being really really good again. Two guys, two all-star (if not this year, very very soon), two guys who can both develop into top 10 players, two very young guys. There's some crazy negative view of them right now because of Minny's record. Well, that's just adjusting to a new system defensively, when they had no defensive system previously And their HORRIBLE third quarters. They are amazing otherwise throughout the games, and I think have a top 3 offense in the league. Frankly, I REALLY REALLY don't think the TWolves would do that deal. Yes you need top players to win a ring. And yes you need more than one. And yes Harden is already one. But where is #2? And where are guys 3-7 after that? Don't get me wrong the team has talent but is a long way from he next jump. I love someone like Gordon Hayward for example and think it smart to target him. But ultimately does Hayward come here and if he does is he really a #2 on the level of Curry/Kd or Lebron/Kyrie or Kwahi/LMA or CP3/Blake?? Doesn't seem so. Reiterating what I said about... Wiggins and Towns are already really really good. They're not too 10 players but on their way and much younger. It'd be a statement saying we're looking 5 years into the future not just 2 but thats ok. Again i don't think skinny would do it. They've underperformed so far so playoffs this year mighty already be out of the question. But that's ok I think. Add more talent in the draft, figure out Rubio, LaVine and get some assets back and next year I see them coming on very strong.
