Sure, you can even compare Harden to Mitch Richmond, whose a freaking hall of famer. His career was filled with stats, while playing for garbage teams year after year, his biggest contribution in his career probably is the trade from the Kinds to the Wiz which brought Chris Webber to the Kings and turned them to be that close to get to the final. That's the only thing left for Harden to complete for the Rockets.
It is so disappointing to see so many people who cant wrap their brain around the fact that players can go from being the hottest commodity around to being regarded as a worthless chucker in virtually no time at all... that's why you look at things like work ethic, heart, drive, adaptability and various other intangibles... Players like MJ, Kobe, Bron are once or twice in a decade talents - everybody else has the potential to be here today and gone tomorrow as far as elite status... Well Harden ain't no MJ... I haven't seen the devotion and dedication needed to maintain a high level of productivity.. The lack of leadership and focus... The inability to make players around him better (due to his ball dominance... c'mon D12 is #4 on FG% ALL TIME and having the best % of his career this year - and getting< 9 shots a game...) and the overall disinterested dgaf attitude... The dude is fool's gold... We can hold onto him and be teased by his potential... or we sell high and get a guy or two that have the work ethic and dedication needed to win a ring... and to people that want to say "he's only 26..." if he can't figure it out to stay in shape, play defense and not be partying in the clubs in this, his 7TH YEAR IN THE LEAGUE... i don't know what to tell you... True Hakeem and MJ didn't win it all until a few year in, but these issues didn't exist in such abundance with them at any time! Fool's gold... hear me now - believe me later...
Kevin McHale said "(Dwight) he's not the problem in Houston" - so I'm assuming he means that Harden is the problem?
Yeah, Harden was not the lead player on the national team. Very different situation. A talented player who is not hungry and self-motivating can only go so far. The NBA actually has quite a few players like that in its history. These players usually ends up either (1) becoming a second or third fiddle on a contender if they are lucky to be on such team or (2) playing brilliantly for a few seasons and then dropping off quickly.
