I am not too worried but I think Morey and MDA's days could be numbered. It would be a huge change as I have spent years/one decade watching Harden and Morey. There is some nostalgia to them.
With 4 highest luxury tax in the nba, both Morey and MDA are underachieved this year. Going forward, it will be the same ...
If Paul is out 2 months then I say yes. He was looking older all season and he will need a whole month of playing just to get back to that. The reality is he has to be our 3rd best player going forward. Another thing we need to be honest about is the fact that Harden will not evolve well. He will experience a worse drop off than Paul imo in 2-3 years. It won't be gradual. This team desperately needs someone who can eclipse Paul. That person HAS to be cheap, so a rookie scale salary is the only way. Especially since that player won't have to get paid till Paul's contract expires. Tilman is not going to pay LT again. He WILL dump at least Knight's contract. This is the only way to save him from LT and be competitive. Yes it sucks especially given you are giving up a prime Harden season. At some point you have to sacrifice something and that might be the least painful option. I have zero interest in an annual 10% shot at the title. Maybe in a year the Warriors are more beatable too. I specifically called it that this would happen. Gross mismanagement by the organization to have injured Paul just because they're counting fractions of efficiency or pennies in trades. If we make Harden carry this ship, he will go down like the Titanic, I promise you that. Giving up half a season of his prime is not as bad as having him incur a major injury entering his 30's after half a decade of going to the line 10 times a game. Getting even the 7-8th pick would transform our next 5 years in an otherwise impossible way. Play Knight, House, Clark, Hartenstein extensively. Dump Knight in the summer for 2nd rounders.
How can you say that when they don't even play similar or even have the same type of body or athleticism? I'm not trying to be a jerk, that's not a distinction.
I'm saying the trajectory of their inevitable career decline will be similar regardless of how each of them play. I'm aware they are very different players.
Intentionally tank? No. You can’t do that. But play Harden 30 mins/gm. If it is a blow out either way less. Playing him 40+ minutes in hopes of squeaking in to the 8th or 7th slot is foolish. As constructed we are not winning 1 playoff series this year. If Paul harden and Capela are 100%. Maybe we could upset a higher seed. But this team as is can’t challenge the warriors. Right now the future just looks bleak. I am sure Morey is looking at every angle. But when you have a 2-7 off suit as your hand you are hosed.
Yes I know, but there is no reason to believe that given that they are again vastly different players
STOP IT!!! The NBA is entertainment...and the entertainers (players) need to be at their best at every performance. Who cares about the future draft pick, they probably will mess it up anyway. Can you say Eddie Griffin? You never tank...you play your best at all times. If I travel half way across the country to see them play - they better play their best!
There's honestly zero logical evidence for you to feel this way about Harden. He doesn't rely on his athleticism to get points, he's been nothing but durable his entire career, he's pound for pound one of the strongest players at his position, and he's not even 29 yet. I'm all for a spectrum of opinions, but your opinion on Harden's decline probably has a less than 2% chance of coming true.
Harden has to get injured non stop from this season forward to catch up to Dwyane's history of injuries. Wade did not age that poorly, he can still chip in 10-15 points a night off the bench at age 36. He had major injuries, underwent major surgeries. Wade also relied very much on his athleticism in his prime, whereas Harden never did.
I really don't know what youre getting at, but I'll play along for one more post. There is no reason to believe there is no reason to believe it. They can share similarities other than general playing style which can contribute to a similar decline. Harden and Wade absorb a lot of contact, always carry a little more weight than they should and place pressure on their core muscles by decelerating frequently.
Once Harden loses a little bit of explosion, his inability to maintain focus on defense will be unmanageable at his salary imo.
If you are a prophet of some kind, have your money ready though, you'll get rich. I think I will be very surprised if he can only score below 18-20 ppg in 2-3 years. I dun think it happens quickly without major injuries.