James Harden and the Houston Rockets are at a breaking point

And you know this how?

Why should we care what you believe?

 

MacMahon with a clear agenda carrying out his orders from Tilman

every time he opens his mouth, it’s another hit piece to make Harden look bad and Tilman and the organization look good

Tilman is the one who was crying to other execs about how CP3’s contract was the worst in the league and said himself he pushed the Russ trade through when Morey was hesitant, but this pawn MacMahon opens his mouth and says the Russ trade was all on Harden. Y’all keep eating this sh*t up.

the organization is the one that cultivated this environment and created this culture, and they are the ones who offered Harden a 2/103 extension

So Harden is the problem, but u want to offer the problem a 2/103 extension?

keep running your mouth for Tilman MacMahon...next we’ll hear that it’s Harden who didn’t want Ariza back, and Tilman was just doing what Harden wanted

 

It is out of nowhere, there has never been anyone claiming this was a AAU team and no one blamed harden for Howard leaving they all reported that he did not want to play the Capela role and it was reported that Morey wanted him back but he chose to leave anyway.

It also has never been reported that Harden was dictating everything to the organization and getting everything he wants.

There is lot of stuff being reported out of nowhere.

 

So funny that all the Harden-Stan crowd can do now is blame the media. Sounds familiar. Nowhere else to turn. Defeated but clinging to the hope of a media-fueled conspiracy against Harden.

 

Yet people here still blame TF. Ugh

 

Better to be a Harden than a Tilman one, IMO.

That said, I think I'm turning into a Jae'Sean Tate Stan. @aelliott

 

This is gonna be the reason the Rockets become the Knicks west.

Culture is a very loaded word and players know what perks superstar players get or even all stars and nobody is gonna want to come here and play with what looks like an owner trashing his starr out the door and trying to bring NBA players to heal.

This **** is sickening.

 

After last night, I’m a J Tate Stan for sure. I think the kid can play.

 

they want to paint this picture that Harden created this toxic culture

No, the organization created it, and Harden became a product of his environment. U give any superstar a ton of power and privilege, they will make use of it. They had no problem with all this sh*t they’re now bringing up in these hit pieces or just let it slide until Harden no longer wanted to be here.

now it’s a bunch of bitter ex behavior

 

Whether you blame Harden or not, having stories like this appear virtually every day does not help repair James Harden’s relationship with the Rockets’ front office, nor does it help the organization get the maximum possible return via trade because they are damaging to Harden’s reputation.

 

Daryl Morey is responsible for this culture. It was clear as day when James Harden played like he was on drugs in game 6 against the Spurs in the playoffs in the 2016-2017 season, and the organization made sure to tell the entire world that Harden’s lack of energy and disinterest in an elimination game was due to being tired.

It’s also not that surprising that an NBA superstar gets preferential treatment. As we now clearly see, the owners and commissioner have given these elite players too much power.

 

It can’t be any worse for his value than partying in Vegas w/ no mask and skipping the start of training camp, leaving a brand new coach out to dry. The cat has been out of the bag, and Harden-Stan’s can only cry conspiracy. The league has known who Harden is IMO.

 

Fair enough. However, the Rockets’ organization doesn’t need to add more fuel to the fire by constantly opening their collective mouths to reporters right now.

 

I hear you. I’m gonna guess though, that by the time this stuff comes out to the general public it has been known to the league for quite some time.

 

Anyone know if Tim McMahon has a history of being more front office-friendly vs player-friendly?

He certainly didn't seem to go out of his way to get a lot of player input on this story.

 

Especially that jiggy idiot with his head in the sand.

See no evil, hear no evil

 

No our eyes are wide open and not full of stars.

Anyone who's watched Harden play since he arrived in Houston (and perhaps before - I never really watched OKC games) knows that he plays the game how he wants and expects everyone else to conform. The guy didn't adjust a bit for any of the stars he demanded we bring in - not for Dwight Howard, not for Chris Paul and not for Russell Westbrook. Sure, they weren't as good him - nobody would argue otherwise - but basketball is ultimately a team game and the very best players on championship teams make adjustments to help their teammates maximize their own abilities. Someone else here described Harden's chemistry with his star teammates as "my turn, your turn" and that nails it. And when it's been someone else's turn, Harden has stood on the perimeter, offering nothing to help the play develop.

Even worse, Harden's perimeter defense (which has never been better than adequate and has been awful 90% of the time) has put extreme demands on his teammates. For every great play like the one on Dort, there have been 9 plays where his guy either gets a wide open shot or goes straight to the basket and scores an easy layup. Does Harden take responsibility for this? Hell no - he's never hesitated to show visible displeasure when they don't succeed in stopping the opposing player that just blew by him. That is textbook diva behavior.

I think it's great that Harden practices frequently - I'm sure that's partly responsible for his durability as well as his offensive improvement. But what he has really needed to do is spend every summer in the video room and figure out how to mitigate the weaknesses in his game. Because those weaknesses have not improved nearly enough for franchise player.

Harden has carried this team offensively - that is undeniable. He has not gotten the help other superstars have, which is significantly due to Alexander's refusal to tank in the post-Yao era (thus denying us the benefit of a few lottery pick players) and Morey allowing too many valuable players to leave for nothing (Dragic, Parsons, Howard, Ariza). Harden helped bring the Rockets their greatest success in 30 years but has also led to their most heartbreaking failures when he's dropped the ball. And let's not mince words - Harden has dropped the ball in a lot of critical moments (these are just a few):

-not showing up for the first 2 games against Portland in 2014, and the lazy switch that gave Lillard the wide open shot to win the series
-fading completely in the elimination game against the Clippers in 2015 (saved only by Josh Smith and Corey Brewer having the best games of their careers while Harden was on the bench)
-turning the ball over on a potentially game-winning breakaway at the end of Game 2 against GS in 2015
-getting blocked by Ginobili on a game-winning shot in Game 5 against SA in 2017
-not showing up in Game 6 against a SA team missing its best player (Leonard) in the same 2017 series

In more recent years, it's been less about actively failing and more about not rising to the occasion, but the result has been the same - no championship series (let alone a championship). And if you are going to credit him for all team success, you have to give him blame for all team failures. At any point has Harden shown signs of looking within himself and asking why the team keeps falling short? No, he hasn't.

I've digressed but my point is that Harden is not blameless here and he has not always been the ideal teammate. Nobody is making all his issues up just to ruin his reputation. Especially Tillman - unless Tillman wants to lower both Harden's trade value and the team's future value, he isn't going to air dirty or mythic laundry. No, these issues are coming to light now that the sources realize there is enough backing evidence to support their information.

 

And you know this how?

Why should we care what you believe?

 

I guess I misworded my point. I meant the partying between games he’s being accused of. There seems to always be documentation of his partying. Why is it that so called partying between games isn’t documented and shown before

 

I don't doubt he has gone out and partied between games..... a lot of guys like KD, LBJ, Wade and others have. The thing about Harden and LBJ and a few others is that they still always got their work in too. Sometimes Harden would call someone at 3-4 AM to get the practice facility opened. He is someone that has never been huge on structure and over time people would let him do his own thing because over time he proved he would work hard and be ready come game time...... not everyone can do it that way. Some guys are extremely regimented and want that type of routine. Russell Westbrook for example is famous for wanting everything exactly plotted out, and there is no deviation from it.... and you won't see Westbrook be late and you won't see him stay late either. It is just how he is.

MDA took the approach that the top players are grown men, they can call and say they are going to miss practice or will be late because they are smarter and better than other players and can pick up things quickly and they have a track record of getting their work in on their own. KD and Wade both are famous for being like that.

I kind of chuckle when I hear that practices had to be cancelled because of Harden, because that just isn't true. Teams have practices all the time and not all players are present for a variety of reasons. For example Steph Curry has been excused from practice for personal reasons a number of times. He has a track record of getting it done on the court so he gets breaks others may not.