Because this is Harden's team...... I would expect Harden to act differently if he was traded somewhere it didnt work out. Again.... WB didn't act like this when it was OKC. Lets try and understand the differences and not get too emotional because Tilman/Harden wanted WB over CP3.
James Harden was super tight with Nipsey Hussle who was a member of the Rolling 60's .. I dont think James has done too many drive by's but it would be hard to say. Are you implying John "200Ms" Wall is going to be putting in work for the Bloods?
Nah he won't Russ is making 40M a year, he won't turn down that money and skip playing. He was in videos scrimmaging with Harden so whatever issues they had either isn't that big or just getting blown out of proportion, at least compared to his beef with CP3. If Russ didn't want to play at all he would be at home snacking on cheetos not busting his ass looking ripped AF. Both of these are risks, Wall is a massive risk to suck coming out of Achilles injury while WB is a risk being disgruntled. However as we have seen in how Russ played in the two months after Roco traded and before the league shutdown he CAN play good, to the point of 30 pts on 50% FG assuming he is healthy (he is) and we have the stretch Cs to open the space for him (we do). So if we kept WB till midseason the higher chance is he would have played better than he did last season and so would have fetched a better return. Worst case, his value remains the same and you do the same trade. What you have to prove is trading WB now when his value is at his lowest is better than keeping him and trading him at midseason when his value potentially has improved. You don't win a ring by midseason so whether Wall is the key to a championship formula is irrelevant to trading WB now or at midseason. Harden has 2 years to sign that extension so whether you keep WB now or trade him at midseason again it doesn't have any tangible effect what will signing an extension half a year earlier do? OTH what can have an effect is Wall playing like trash or not even playing at all due to injury and Harden not signing that extension we cuz we have the Wall anchor on our necks. If we waited till mid season to see how Wall plays before we trade for him then we could have avoided that potential landmine. It's like when AD demanded a trade midseason but the Pelicans held on to him till the end of the season. By holding out the Lakers sucked and missed the playoffs and NO got a top 4 pick out of LA. NO knew worst case the package Lakers offered at midseason is still the package they will get at the end of the season. It's literally no risk, potential reward.
I think you may be the one who's getting emotional over Westbrook honestly. If you can see this is James' team then moving on from Westbrook should be easy and trying to find some common ground as fans should be the order of the day and trying to find some hope to cling onto. Not pining over guys who didnt want to be here in the first place.
Which is why Harden should be on the receiving end of WB's pass.... And I'll be arguing the same thing with John Wall. WB vs Wall...... WB surprisingly has a better career EFG, TS%, and TOV%. They are both players who are better creators for others. Wall is a better crappy shooter and WB is better at getting to the FT line/transition. I guess CP3 was trash too..... Harden wouldn't help him out either......
What's the difference to you if the Rockets get bounced in the first round with Westbrook or miss the playoffs with Wall in a suit? The end result is exactly the same. Harden walks and we're stuck with the worst owner in the league. Only this way, we have an extra pick. 0 risk. The difference between Westbrook's ceiling and Wall's floor in the long run are completely immaterial. The pick alone makes it worth it.
I'm not the one claiming "guaranteed failure" or "zero risk"...... People seem to be upset when I don't think WB is as terrible as they do..... they get especially upset when I dare suggest that its in the Rockets best interest for Harden to play some off ball.
In what world would defenders leave Harden open when Westbrook has the ball? If you get the ball out of Harden's hands and into Westbrook's hands, you won as a defender. You can't be on the receiving end of many passes while you are being guarded closely due to no one respecting the guy that has the ball in his hands. With Wall, he's a better passer than Westbrook and he's a considerably better situational shooter. Defenses will have to respect him a LOT more than they did Westbrook and that should lead to good things all around. Still Harden is going to be the primary ball handler, and now that Westbrook is gone, that'll lead to much better spacing and thus better results all around.
We maybe able to get a better pick later.... I certainly wouldn't suggest "zero risk" or that this was the best offer we would have gotten from this point forward. Lots of folks are making absolute statements....
What are you not understanding? The Rockets got a pick for a player that was taking them nowhere. They are now one pick richer. It is certainly not much, but they are in a better spot now than where they were yesterday for the inevitable rebuild, while getting a better fitting player. This is not hard to grasp. The only reason not to make this trade is if you believe Russell Westbrook is the key to winning a championship, in which case, I'm sorry, but LOL
Yeah I was starting to realize that, it's just really weird. I mean, I'm not going to tell people what players they should like, but when anyone finds themselves bashing Harden to try and prop up an absolute scrub like Westbrook....maybe they should re-think their life?
The future of the Lakers is based entirely on the health and high level play of a player who is about to be in the top 5 in minutes played all time in NBA history. Father time is undefeated.
Oh my stars...... Harden may have to move..... So you are saying defenders wouldn't be able to pack the paint as well because they would need to stick a body near Harden that isn't around the half court line? WB has proven to be an effective creator..... not as good as Harden.... but when WB is such a terrible shooter, you need to adjust. Defenders respect WB's ability to get to the line so they setup that way.... Again.... there are just different. And he's far worse in transition and far worse getting to the line. John Wall hasn't played in two years...... he will need to prove that defenders need to "respect him". Harden could have been the primary ball handler and played some off ball..... But Harden may prefer his own stats over the Rockets winning. I certainly won't argue Harden's play style hasn't led to historic individual numbers.
So I guess modern medicines and therapies on top of the fact a lot more money is involved in players today have absolutely no effect on this type of injury recovery compared to the past? Werd
