It’s weird that at first it was russ and harden saying they were not content with the situation. I’ve not seen any reports of animosity between them. This might just be a coordinated plan to get them both out of here.
Got to take risks....and he has one year less on his contract than Russ. Look, it is Harden, he is not going to change, and people don't like playing with him. Either you commit to trading him or you take risks. DD
Hornets is not happening and glad Nick Wright is honest about Harden, though it's still a mild assertion. Harden is a diva, plain and simple. He can say he cares about winning all he wants, his actions show differently. He doesn't want to move off the ball, doesn't want to relinquish too much ball handling duties and does not feel responsible when he makes mistakes yet quick to point the finger. If he cannot make it work with one of his best friends, who can he?! I'm tired of Harden being excused, AGAIN!
You are absolutely right that no sane individual would want their team’s offense going through Russell Westbrook instead of James Harden. However, once Tilman Fertitta stuck his nose where it didn’t belong and forced the Westbrook-Paul trade, it became Mike D’Antoni’s job to best utilize Westbrook and Harden to improve the team’s success. Everyone knows Russell Westbrook isn’t a good spot-up shooter, so for a Harden-Westbrook pairing to work, Harden needed to accept playing off the ball and having the role of shooting guard when both shared the court. Good luck expecting a perennial MVP candidate to do that. Chris Paul was the perfect guard pairing for Harden because he’s capable of both running an offense and playing off the ball. The bottom line is the Rockets should have focused on pairing Harden with an elite small forward that is great off the ball. Someone like Paul George or Khris Middleton would be Harden’s ideal pairing. Then, you could start Eric Gordon in his natural shooting guard position, and he’s happy and back to having “fun” again. (Eric needs to pull his head out of his ass and focus on playing consistently well whether he gets 30 minutes as a starter or reserve. His poor play last season falls entirely on him.)
I absolutely agree, I firmly put all of this at the feet of Fertita. He’s an arrogant idiot. And yes Harden has his warts, Westbrook does as well. The things said about CP3 and Harden not working are actually true with Westbrook.
