I can see Harden listening to a coach with a strong resume like Pop. But Harden is not changing his game for a rookie HC. Especially a HC he didn't endorse.
This is on Harden not Silas. There is zero percent chance Silas didn't reach out to Harden. If there is no communication between the two its because Harden doesn't want it.
As a newly hired manager, it is incumbent on that manager to create trust, loyalty, buy in from the team. The very best managers do their utmost to build great relationships with their best performers, that is job #1. Especially if those top performers have loyalty to the old manager that left. It is not easy, but it is real life.
How do you talk to someone if they dont want to talk to you? The only way for them to build a relationship off the court is if they hit the strip joints together. In retrospect, maybe he should've done that.
That’s on Harden, the way Silas is doing things is fine. All he can do is hope Harden is with the team. He doesn’t control if we trade him or not. He can’t force Harden to stay. He can talk better with him when they meet in person. Is different when you communicate through phone or in a meeting than when your hired and you have the person face to face. Harden wouldn’t like it if he was on his face or demanding some answers. Harden prob already is committed from what we heard from wall. Cousins wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t talked with Harden first. Harden just doesn’t like to talk much
That is why GM/Coaches/Executives are paid the big bucks. If the job were easy, everyone could do it. It is Silas' job to get the most out of Harden and it starts with better communication. If he believes the solution is for Harden to reach out to him, then Silas has already failed. New managers almost ALWAYS make this mistake. It is up to Silas to find commonality.
He needed to reach out early in the process, get to know James and alleviate his fears. James is a paid Rockets employee, but he's a person first with a massive, massive ego that can make or break a coach and wreck a team's chemistry. You've got to find ways to tip-toe guys like him, IMHO.
I said it early on Tilman would **** this up. If Harden truly doesn’t want to play here and he keeps him here Hardens value is going to go down. If Morey truly did offer Ben and picks and Tilman said no to that when Harden made it clear he didn’t want to be here we won’t be getting a better offer than that. I hate this ****ing guy. He’s going to be worse than Dolan and Sarver.
unless harden cuts his arm off his value isn't going to tank. he is the prize commodity in extreme short supply, the trophy picasso that has not come up on the market in 36yrs. let the bidding begin amongst the thirsty GMs
We're never going to get the full story with regards to James' feelings. He could want out, or he could be pretending he's mad about his friend being traded just to save face. He could me mad about Daryl, MDA, and other things too. Whatever, as a new coach you've got to reach out to one of the all-time greats and at least pretend you care about their input. You're not going to impose your will on someone like James. I think you're probably right about Harden being committed. At least I hope so. I also like Silas and believe he's going to be one of the top coaches in the league before all is said and done. Hopefully this will all blow over quickly.
He’s going to be what 32 years old? I would guess that being unhappy is going to lead to him not having a typical Harden year. I think his value could go down. I’m not saying it’ll tank because he will still be a top 2 player but I can see it definitely being lower than it is right now.
Simply observing Harden's body language during bad games and seeing how he reacted when things weren't going our way in any of the games he's played in for the Rockets over the last 8 seasons could tell you that. Leadership is setting the example and taking accountability - Harden may be the greatest talent I've ever seen in a Rockets uniform (I wasn't around for the Dream) but a leader he is not.
he'll be 32 ten months from now. if he doesn't show up for the individual workout this evening, the front office can spend at least the next 6-10 weeks building a market for him with zero to negligible trade value loss. again, there has not been a player of harden's magnitude available for trade since moses malone 37yrs ago and harden is still under contract for 2 more years -- we hold all the cards here
