I, as we all were, was horrified by the team's performance to end the spurs series. I was so frustrated and fed up, that I will be honest, I was on board for trading Harden, along with pretty much everyone else on the team. I went to bed that night deflated and disappointed. I woke up the following day and laughed at how stupid of a thought that was. Having that emotional knee-jerk reaction to a devastating and embarrassing playoff series defeat, sure, I can understand the thought-process behind it. But, maintaining this idea throughout the entire off-season and carrying it over into this season? I'm not following. At all. Players like Harden are few and far in between, obviously. He has flaws, just like every other amazing superstar to come through the league. But to be a fan of this team, and to actually want to trade this guy away, or even for people to be calling for Morey's head too, it's just downright baffling to me. We have a pretty much top-tier team in the most brutal conference in sports right now, and that's with our huge off-season acquisition in street clothes for 10 out of our first 11 games this season. If you can't enjoy this team for what it is now, and for what it strives to be when healthy and with more time together, what is even the point of being a fan in the first place? Enjoy Harden for as long as he is here, because who knows how long it could be before we have a comparable talent to him after he's gone.
Randle just turned 22 Russell is 21 Tatum is 19 Randle has star potential. At the very least he’ll be a very good starting rotational player for many years. Russell is developing nicely and he’s actually putting up good numbers. You can hate on him all you want but kid’s on his way to becoming a star. Tatum has superstar potential. Let’s fast forward 5 years.... Those 3 kids will just be entering their prime and be some of the marquee players in the league and Harden will be nearing the end of his career at 33. We have a about a 4 year window with Harden to make it happen. I think this year will be our best shot once CP3 gets healthy and we gel. With that’s said I think it it will be hard for us to get to the WCF let alone advancing.
I actually hate bumped threads like this, on either side. This is nothing but gloating after a game that "proves" the other side wrong. I'd hate if (God forbid) Harden has another playoffs meltdown and someone bumped this thread again and crap on people like you. It's just juvenile. Grow up, people.
So you'd prefer to forego our chance at being competitive in the playoffs for years, on basically a hope that 3 young players pan out? That doesn't sound like fun to me.
I stood by I wanted something different after the Spurs game. However there wasn't much out there you could trade for him and get equal value in return. Harden's been a absolute disappointment in the playoffs, until he redeems himself then I don't feel any different towards him.
this, it's like the James Frauden, or the Anderson thread. I feel like people on here get more happiness ******** on people for being wrong than actually watching the team, it's quite sad honestly.
No. Keep in mind my OP was way before we added CP3. I have a renewed sense of hope but I’m also a realist. It’s going to be extremely hard to even get to the WCF even if CP3/Harden pan out and we’re healthy.
I think you guys are taking it a little too seriously. Sure, maybe the initial bump is a cheap 'I told you so' post, but it does spark additional conversation and debate, which is what this place is for, after all.
Ah, gotcha. I'm more optimistic than you I guess. Also, I mean, it may not be the most popular opinion, but I'm really not the kind of fan who has the "championship or nothing" mentality. Is it likely we can win the ship this year? Probably not. But, I think we are a good team and have a chance to give any team we face absolute hell. And that is absolutely enough for me. I really enjoy having a team that can at the very least get wins on a consistent basis. I love Rockets basketball, and I do not want to go through a rebuild a second sooner than we have to.
I love the people who are willing to trade an actual good player for a pick or a young player who has promise, but no guarantee that they will actually end up being good. If this were the Price is Right, you would be trading car in for the chance to win whatever is hidden behind the curtain because you hope it could be a car.
lmao at Randle having star potential...stop... Russell has played ok on a bad team while having 1 of the highest usage rates in the NBA so far...he has the worst net rating on his team IIRC and can’t defend a thing Tatum will be lucky if he ever becomes a superstar on the level of a James Harden...the chance that he does is incredibly slim Marquee players in the league? Lmao
I can respect that. As I mentioned the CP3 trade gave me some renewed hope and peeked my interest again. If we would’ve rolled out the same squad as last year or didn’t acquire a second star I would’ve said rebuild 100% even though we would’ve won a lot of games. Nobody likes to rebuild but nobody wants to be mediocre or 1st/2nd round playoff fodder (at least I don’t). We’ve been that the entire Harden era with the exception of 1 year we made it to the WCF (super fun year btw). With CP3 we’re 1 step closer but we need more still.
Randle is very talented and I believe he has star potential. At the worst solid rotational player for many years like I said. Russell is playing 28 mpg and he’s putting up 21/ 4.5 / 5.5 and shooting 44% from the field. Small sample size but he’s been very good and leading his team to wins. Again he’s only 21 and doing that . Defense and learning how to win will come with experience. Superstars are rare and nothing is a sure thing but Tatum has as good of a chance as anybody else drafted in the last 3 years. Again, he’s 19 and already making an impact on games. All this is a moot point. We kept Harden, got CP3 acquired some small but potentially key pieces have assets to move before the deadline and I’m still a Rockets fan. I’m good with where we’re at for now.
I get it I guess, but man, I'd rather reach the end of the regular season with the dice in my hands with a chance to roll at the very least, as opposed to being the Mavs right now and for the foreseeable future. I can appreciate being on the more competitive side of the league, with the chance to play and win in the playoffs. The playoffs are so damn fun and are so important for the health of the franchise. Moreover, I love that we have a GM that recognizes how formidable Golden State is, and wants to rip their throats out. If every general manager had the mentality of blowing it up after hardship and disappointment in the playoffs, it would really tarnish my enjoyment of the NBA.
In Morey I trust. We’re in good hands as fans with Morey as GM and the new owner seems to have some similar qualities (the good ones) to Cuban.
