You find me how many guards out there that can give you 35/8/7/2/1 ...... there have been 2-3 in NBA history. No, Harden is getting double and triple teams and still gives you 30 a game with good efficency. The problem has been some of the other players on the roster.
Sounds like you're severely underrating how good Boston is. Harden couldn't get the Rockets past the Spurs without Kawhi and Parker.
So are we all supposed to be mad that Tilman listened to his star? It seems like all the things this team has done, Harden blessed. But then it doesn't work out and he acts like he isn't partly responsible.
Yep. It's a good thing basketball isn't a team sport. Oh wait.... And some of the problem players on the roster were here because of Harden.
Exactly. Here's my take on the sequence of evens that got us here: 1. Rockets had come close with CP3 once, then took a step back the following season. 2. Meanwhile, Tilman lets Morey know he thinks CP3's contract is the worst in the league, considering his age and injury history. 3. Harden knows we won't get a chip without a major addition. He and Morey discuss adding Butler, whom they've both been interested in for a while; Harden is enthusiastically on board. 4. Butler says no thanks. 5. Harden and Morey both know they've still got to make a big move. 6. PG leaves OKC, Harden asks Morey about somehow adding Westbrook. 7. Morey says we can't bring Russ in without trading CP3 because Tilman won't pay the luxury tax. Getting Russ would mean trading CP3 for him, since nobody else wanted CP3's contract after his down year and injury history. 8. Harden loved the idea of playing with his bestie instead of with a constant thorn like CP3, so he pushed for the trade. 9. Morey dutifully discusses the trade possibility with Tilman, who has told him to unload CP3 and his bad contract. Some of the BB ops people like the idea, others don't (including Morey). Morey's probably thinking Tilman won't want to take on a similar contract, but to his surprise, Tilman pulls the trigger on the trade over all the objections. Inside, Morey is furious because he knows this lessens the teams title hopes and makes him look like a bad GM. 10. The Harden-Russ combo has obvious flaws and it soon becomes apparent it's not a title combination. 11. Meanwhile, CP3 has a great comeback season. 12. The Rockets flame out against the Lakers. 13. MDA has had enough of Tilman's **** and departs. 14. Harden knows he looks bad because he liked the trade. Tilman doesn't know HE looks bad because he's a tool. 15. Morey hates looking like he's made a majorly stupid trade, hates knowing his new boss will override him without valid reason and decides this is no longer the job for him. He tells Tilman he wants out. 16. Russ doesn't love playing alongside his friend like he thought he might, doesn't like the Tilman culture, and hates being pointed at as the reason we flamed out. He tells Tilman he wants out. 17. With his two biggest supporters, Morey and MDA, both gone, and his bestie demanding a trade, Harden decides it's time to jump off the sinking ship and demands one himself. 18. Obviously, all the front office changes and new player acquisitions haven't changed his mind. At this point, either Silas gets these guys playing like champs out of the gate and Harden sees hope for a title, or Tilman eventually gets tired of Harden's pouting and tells Stone to unload him ("Get the best deal you can, but get that ungrateful SOB out of here.")
He didn't protect Harden at the time......... he said Harden supported the move for Westbrook, and that he (the owner) was the one that insisted that the trade be made because he (the owner) thought it made the Rockets better. If they wanted to protect Harden, he and Morey could have just left Harden out of the discussion. Tilman is now doing the exact same thing he did when Paul left, when MDA left and Morey left..... magically there are "reports" negative about them. It is always the same predictable grift from the Rockets ownership..... from "creative math" to "he will be 69 years old" to "worst contract in basketball", to "I never said I wouldn't pay the tax" to "Morey decided we wouldn't pay the tax".......... and shockingly now they all want away from the team owned by Tilman.
Apparently we're not supposed to blame Harden for the moves he outright demanded, we're supposed to blame those who did everything possible to keep him happy.....and then we're supposed to sympathize with Harden who now wants out due to the state of the team after the terrible moves he forced the team to make.
Yeah, that's protecting him. He said Harden "supported" the move when the truth was Harden threw a temper tantrum and demanded the move be made or he be traded.....notice how one of those paints Harden in a MUCH better light than the other. Now that it is obvious that what Harden demanded completely screwed the team, he wants out and is putting out BS in the media trying to blame those who caved to his demands for the team's woes.....so those who once protected him aren't doing it quite as much. Every step of the way ownership went along with Harden's BS in an effort to keep him happy, and you are trying to spin that as a bad thing...what would the spin be if he simply said no to those demands? If he said "Shut up and dribble and leave the GM duties to Morey", we'd have people here blaming him for Harden leaving.....just like they are already doing. What would the spin be if when Harden was forcing the moves he just came out and said "Hey, Harden demanded it, so we did it"?
Agreed clutch, It is common knowledge but continually escapes people like @HP3 who spam this board and attack others that can reason and make logical inferences. Even if it wasn’t for your insider info I woulda believed it because it’s the most likely explanation. Reports of CP3 harden rift which plagued the media and boom he’s booted. Way too telegraphed As @Nook also brought up Tillman had a hand in it too. The truth is in the middle but you have two idiot culprits that can’t listen to their smart Gm
No trust me I know Boston is a good team - main reason why I'd advocate targeting Jaylen Brown in a trade if you could do it for Harden. Brown is a better player moving forward than Embiid is to me. James "most dependable" teammates that year/series: Eric Gordon, Pat Bev, Ariza, Ryan Anderson .... Tell me how the hell did that team even win 55 games in the West? Versus SA James stunk game 6. Ran out of gas and just waved the white flag, and nobody else was there to slack him up. THATS the story of his time here. Now all of a sudden Morey finds shooters in Philly??? Sus AF my guy. If James wants out Im okay with it, but Im not going to play along with you guys who want to diminish and slander his time here and look for those worst possible moments to justify your takes. He's the 2nd best player in franchise history and has brought me alot of joy as a fan. I'd never think that I'd see another scoring machine like Jordan and James provided that entertainment for me here in my hometown.
Hmmm. "The one that got away" saying he took it easy while here. Thats convenient. Im sure NOW he's going to be that player he was supposed to be here right? Chris Fraud for you.
Ok. I was confused because you said "Embiid couldn't get his team past Boston without Simmons"......as if Boston were some kind of pushover. Still more than enough to beat the Spurs fielding a lineup of P.Mills/Danny Green/Jonathon Simmons/Pau Gasol/Aldridge. Because Harden has always been a regular season monster. Yep. Spurs game 6 and Clippers game 6.
Like I've said all along, why does a highly paid superstar NBA player in his thirties not realize he needs to change his diet and exercise routine from the one he had at 21? CP3 got lazy with the Clippers and his lazy habits continued as a Rocket. It's not until he had his first down year that he finally woke up. He gets no sympathy from me.
Oh, I'm not arguing that point, I'm just pointing out that he was in a no win situation due to his franchise player demanding a terrible trade happen or that he be traded. There was nothing that could have been done in that situation that would have been good. You go along with Harden's BS and destroy the team or you refuse Harden's BS, and then you have to deal with even more of it as he demands a trade.
