Woj: Rockets want to trade Harden "sooner rather than later"

No it isn't...... it's "can he stay healthy at this point". I forget which player you had a huge erection for, Marcus Morris? You have a blind spot to the long term health of MJP in the context of a harden trade.

 

Doncic and Young. So he goes third, with a chance of becoming the second best player in that draft.

Ayton is decent but a bust for a #1 pick. Sexton? Good lord. You would take Sexton today over MPJ?! Ok we can't talk anymore.

 

I made one thread on Morris before he ever played a game and idiots on here act like I'm riding with him for life. I also liked Lowry when he was a back up to AB. And Harden the day we traded for him.

Please name one example of a player coming back from herniated disk who then later couldn't play because of it. Yall talk about all this risk like you are doctors yet none of you have looked into the data or done the research.

 

I just think you are dismissing the concerns because you fell in love with his game and potential. I mean there's medical journal article about it.... Was Dwight the same player afterwards? Nope, but at least he could play? It's a concern as there's a big difference between Denver gambling with a mid 1st pick and being the center piece of a harden trade.

Outcomes After Lumbar Disc Herniation in the National Basketball Association

 

I said this before, there is significant risk in not coming back the same player. Dwight was never the same. We don't know what MPJ could have been without the injury, maybe he would have been Durant mixed with Tmac. But what we do know is what is he today, after the injury, the equivalent of what dwight not being the same player. And today after the injury he is one of the most efficient scorers in the entire league at 22. 90 percentile on iso scoring which extrapolates well into an expanded role. Skill set and physical makeup of an all world player. That's all AFTER the injury. So there is no "what kind of player will he be after", we already know that now, this is it.

The risk is in reinjury, and there is extensive data on that, and it is not significant. Also reinjury means surgery and recovery, not the end of the world.

 

Whether it’s a package centered around Brown/Simmons or MPJ they each bring something different to the table and some are more adverse to risk than others. I’m good with any of the 3. I think it would boil down to picking the best package included with each guy.

 

I’m still of the opinion that we get mountain of number of picks and do some good tanking.

 

Really? I wouldn't go there, If he was that good they wouldn't trade him.

 

im ok with that strategy NEXT season, when we have full control of our pick. That said, I doubt we go down that route. We would still have Wall, Gordon and Wood on the roster, which is probably enough to be a borderline playoff team.

The more likely route is the development route...ie we try to develop a few players into stars while staying on the fringe, and leverage that into trying to attract another star to Houston.

So you do something like Harden and PJ for MPJ and a ton of picks. then try to develop MPJ and Wood into stars...and use that as a way to make a big play in free agency in a few years, or use the picks to acquire a star.

 

I still like reading that the Rockets haven't "given up hope" of trying to change Harden's mind. That's why i want to slow play it. See if he does. Is it a long shot? Yes. But I would not want any regrets. I would exhaust every measure to keep a generational talent and not push him out the door.

 

i still dont think harden is getting traded, not if he keeps playing like this. Harden also seems to like silas. reminds me of hakeem in 92 situation

 

Bill Simmons said on his pod to Jackie that Nets have cooled off a Harden trade and it's because of Pringles

 

You were like 1 year old in 1992. Please, do tell what you remember about that situation.

 

No defensive highlights?

 

Let's change your bolded quote to what you really mean, "I still don't want Harden to get traded, not if he keeps playing like this." His image has taken a huge hit, he's got to save face now. This man is simply trying to increase his trade value and that's great for the Rockets. Please don't ever mention Harden and Hakeem together ever again. Harden isn't even half the man or player Hakeem is and was.

 

it’s funny to see how every national media personality positions a Harden trade.

It’s always “Nets have cooled on a Harden trade after talking to Dantoni” instead of “lol...the Nets have nothing to trade”

Or “Miami isn’t sure how Harden would fit” instead of “lol...Herro, Robinson and 1 pick for Harden isn’t even a third of what he’s worth”

Or “Simmons is so young, so maybe the 76ers are willing to do a straight up deal of Simmons for Harden”

My theory on this is each of these media types is trying to maintain their relationships with all of these front offices, so they are trying to paint them all in the best light possible. Harden and the Rockets are in no ones good graces, so they are consistently painted negatively.

At the end of the day, none of that matters. Harden is the 2nd best player in the league, and perhaps the best offensive player of all time, signed to a 2-3 year deal. Pay up suckers.

 

he had 2 blocks that aren’t shown

 

No, I think he meant what he said and I agree. I don't think Harden is getting traded this year, not if he keeps playing like this. The asking price will be far too high for all of those teams that were offering relative trash for him. Now he might get traded in the off-season if he's still dumb enough to want out rather than taking a massive extension to continue playing next to Wood, but I think there's almost no chance he's traded this season unless some team comes with a Godfather type offer.

 

you are right hakeems situation was a tad worse

Here's a blurb from the '92 incident. It got way uglier and much more public that the current Harden situation.

Olajuwon said he was offended by Patterson's accusations.

"He has attacked my reputation, my integrity," Olajuwon told The Houston Post. "Tell Steve he's stupid, I'll sue them for everything they've got."

Patterson said Olajuwon made a demand last Monday that his contract be renegotiated and when the demand was rejected, "the last thing he said was `You've got to do what you've got to do and I've got to do what I've got to do.' "

Patterson said part of Olajuwon's last contract agreement was that he not ask again for renegotiation.

"We've renegotiated three times and the last time we signed a deal, he promised he'd never come back (to renegotiate again)," Patterson said. "I think the entire organization is disappointed in Hakeem . . . the players, the staff and management."

"Unless I'm 100 percent ready, I won't play," Olajuwon said. "I'm not going to jeopardize my career for just a couple of games."

https://www.deseret.com/1992/3/23/18974590/hakeem-is-steamed-over-dealings-with-rockets-br

 

Lol. Yeah, right now he’s terrible defensively. Put up 30, and had by far the worst +/- among the starters.

I do really like him. The purest stroke I’ve ever seen from a big. But he doesn’t really do anything else, except rebound. Right now he doesn’t look like he will every be a plus defender. Goal should be to become average.