Because in basketball, stars make all the difference. In the history of the rockets, 3 players have contributed to contention(at least conference final). Moses, Dream, and Harden. We pretty much alienated Harden in his prime, and it will be probably be over a decade before we get another one since no big time free agent will ever come to rockets knowing we are cheap AF and have egomaniac owner. So we will depend on getting lucky in the draft. Oh wait, we don't have any draft picks for a while, so the only the hope is that we are so bad that the protections kick in.
They seem to have a good job in reconstruction of the roster. Whether Harden stay or not, they will some picks and talent. Not being repeater luxury tax range is smart unless u have a team like GS did. The Rockets will be fine.
How much you want to bet we won't be a contender for at least a decade? How much do you want to bet that we won't crack 50 wins without Harden in the next 5 years?
They will contend this decade...lol. 50 wins, demands on what they get back for Harden (if he is traded).
It can never be said enough BOB traded a future HOF WR for a RB that led the team to the worst rushing offense in the league.
After having the 9th best rushing offense last year and letting your 1,000 yard rusher walk. Carlos Hyde @ $2.75 Million, or David Johnson @ $12.3 Million and no Deandre Hopkins Hmmmm, really tough decision there.
They didn’t build a champion. They never got a second star here in their prime. Dwight came post back surgery. CP3 had a ton of miles, injury history and as much baggage as Harden. And when it mattered most CP3 grabbed his hamstring and had to “coach “ from the sideline. He did that a lot here. And that Westbrook ( can’t shoot) small ball crap was just dumb. It was as dumb as the Hopkins trade. You can’t make the team old, small and slow ( with a 6-5 center who’s 35 and can’t dunk) and expect to win the title. Harden or no Harden, the Rockets management didn’t get it done and they haven’t won a title in 25 years.
Lol, I don’t care that he had bad practice habits, OB was an idiot. But he looks so douchey right there.
Hop gonna be a problem when his production fades.... That's when those " yes" men in the FO, he's used to, gonna be saying "hell naw"...
https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/12/24/gameplan-annual-future-general-manager-list Does practice really matter? I picked this question mostly because I found the rant we saw from DeAndre Hopkins—who’s normally fairly quiet with the media—this week to be a fascinating window into his past, and where he goes from here. The backdrop is, per the accounting of reporters covering the team, Hopkins has missed 18 of the Cardinals’ 41 practices this season. He’s missed 13 Wednesdays (Wednesday’s generally the heaviest practice day), and 10 of those were marked by the team as veteran’s days off. Yet, he’s got 103 catches for 1,324 yards (second and first in the NFL, respectively) and six touchdowns, and is tracking to be first-team All-Pro for the fourth straight year. Which is probably why being asked about how he and the team manage his weekly workload struck a nerve when he was asked about it. “Yeah, man, I’ve heard a lot of a lot of negativity about me not practicing when I first came to Arizona,” he told reporters. “I don’t watch the Arizona local news and channels and the sports station. But my grandfather, he’s an avid listener to everything, every single one. I think, if one of you guys say something bad about me, my grandfather, he’s told me. So, I’ve seen all the blogs and all this stuff, I’m pretty sure some of you guys might have been in there egging it on. “I’m not gonna say any names, but there’s a reason that I play football and they watch. And people are in positions for a reason. So, I really didn’t listen to it. I don’t listen to it. I listen to my grandfather, and he was saying, ‘Man, Arizona, they really kind of on you right now because you’re not practicing and all the critics in the sports people.’ But, my grandfather knows who I am, also, and he knows how productive I am on that football field. “And he knew what I was going through, and the people who are giving me stuff, they don’t know what I was going through or dealing with, and I don’t let my news, or really what’s going on with me, be publicized for the future. … And tell those people who say I don’t practice to come watch me play the game.” First of all, that’s a pretty good line. Second, the reason this touched off that rant, I’d suspect, is because the origins of the narrative aren’t in Arizona. They’re in Houston. Part of the reason why Hopkins was traded was because of the work that EVP of football operations Jack Easterby did with then coach Bill O’Brien to examine the entire outfit from a culture standpoint. And a big part of that was how they wanted the team to practice and to work. Hopkins’s practice schedule in Houston had been similar to his practice schedule in Arizona, and that wasn’t changing—which was part of why some in the Texans’ organization felt like Hopkins was operating outside of the team. Which would’ve been manageable, if Hopkins wasn’t asking for a big raise with three years left on his deal. Which led to the thought on how hard it would be to sell a revised culture, while then going out of their way to reward their best player while exempting him from it. You know the rest. The Texans dealt Hopkins as a result, didn’t get great value for him, then the team got off to a horrible start, tensions rose through that start, and O’Brien was fired. So if you’re wondering why Hopkins got so worked up, my guess is that that answer is right there for you. And on the surface, there’s logic to what Easterby and O’Brien were trying to do, particularly based on the program they both came from (New England). But pro football is a results business. And the Cardinals reasoned, in this case, that accommodating and paying Hopkins would be worth the freight, given the level he’s produced at in the pros. Thus far, their gamble has paid off handsomely. Which is to say if Hopkins wants to go Allen Iverson on people, he’s earned the right.
Stars get special "Star Treatment " in professional sports as long as they produce at a star level. Now in the NFL, if you're a pain in the ass, the millisecond that you DON'T produce at a star level you're GONE. They are not going to pay or put up with it. For now Hopkins is producing at a star level.
For all the drama and b****ing about this trade, Hopkins ends up where the Texans will be January...at Home, watching the playoffs from his couch. Thats why u don’t pay a WR $22 million. And No.... u make Hopkins play out his deal.
no it’s the compensation they could have gotten a 1st this up coming draft idc about the trade it’s what we got back O’Brien didn’t know what he was doing he thought being a GM was easy and he not even good at his own title