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

I can agree with that but will he play well with others or fight others to be the big dog?

He is now the 3rd option but I will see how this season plays out.

 

MPJ last year had 51/42/83 shooting splits...insane for a rookie in any capacity

in the playoffs, his shooting splits were 48/38/74

this year it’s 57/42/88...that will obviously come down, but still that jumper is pure at 6’10

2 things I’d like to see are major improvement at getting to the line, and better creation for others...he’s only played in 59 NBA games, so he should only get better at these things as time goes by

a lot of his shots are assisted...84% of his threes were assisted last year...however, it’s not like he’s not capable of creating his own shot

I mean, Harden had 93, 82, and 86% of his threes assisted his 1st 3 seasons

guy is playing his role as the young 3rd or 4th option on a very good team

 

see here’s the thing, there’s trade value and then there’s the better player. Very easy concept. Your grossly misunderstanding my point. Harden is absolutely a better player than tatum and there’s no debate. He also absolutely does not have the trade value of Jayson Tatum.

you love to try and twist my words, but again you’ve failed miserably here. Tatum has 5 years left on his contract and is 22 years old. Him being so young and locked up for so many years means that not only would rebuilding teams want to trade for him but also win now teams. He’d literally have 20 teams after him.

harden is 31 and looked at as a win now piece, no rebuilding young upstart team is going to trade for him. Neither is a middle of the road team. That combined with his age, contract and demands from a new team limits his trade market in a major way. It’s very simple. No one is saying Tatum is as good as harden but he has much more trade value than James harden and it’s really not a debate

15-20>>>>>>6 teams. More bidders better package. Simple

 

the Celtics can use their trade exception and a pick to try and get a solid rotational player back and then ship him to Houston with brown. There’s def ways to do it, doesn’t mean they will but it’s possible.

 

MPj is an intriguing talent for sure. I do think he is more similar to a taller Brandon Ingram than KD Lite. I see some similarities of both and can see MPj's game expanding like Ingram's has given his increased role. I do worry about Porter's injury history and if he truly loves the game. Could be more similar to Tmac where he starts to wear down and just shoots jumpers the rest of his career. Worried he might shy away from contact sooner rather than later.

If MPJ is the target for the Rockets, then I hope they also get another player or two that is young with high upside that could develop into a star or at least be in the conversation for all-star every year so all hopes are not squarely on MPJ. You would then have MPJ, Wood and player to be named as a young core going forward. Obviously we would have picks as well (hopefully unprotected) but who knows where those picks will end up depending on which team we trade with.

Still hope we can keep Harden but if we had to trade him, it makes sense to get cheap young talent in here that will likely blossom into all-stars in 2-3 years while keeping payroll somewhat flexible to sign FA's or make rebuilding type trades for the future to stockpile assets.

 

Can you please fill me in on what @ch44 has said recently?

Last I remember if I’m correct is that he mentioned how the fertitta family covets Tyler herro.

That was the last “update” from him that I remember.

 

He’s a win in 3-4 years piece...not a win now piece. If his game develops and defense improves, he can be “that guy”. But right now, if you replaced him with Jerami Grant, Denver is probably 3-1 or 4-0 instead of 1-3.

 

he said Boston is a legit option, and speculated it would be Brown to Denver with MPJ to Houston.

 

might as well keep sleeping till the deadline

 

that’s fine with me...Rockets won’t be much of anything immediately post-Harden anyways

 

Yeah imo MPJ > brown

 

I think an elite offensive player doesn't have to be able to beat a guy off the dribble but they need to be close to be unstoppable with single coverage. Duncan, Shaq, Reggie Miller, and Ray Allen were all elite offensive players, but they were scoring their points of the dribble. They just need to be able to flex a defense.

 

And I’m not to worried about MPJ defense because as of right now he’s being coached by mike Malone one of the best defensive coaches.

And I’m sure if he was a total liability out there he wouldn't be playing as much.

Remember harden for years was a defensive liability. The kid is only 22

 

What are your thoughts on Gary Harris? I've warmed to him as a secondary piece in any deal involving Denver. He's a bit of a buy low right now (relative to the 24 year old plus defensive player who shot 50% from the field and 40% from 3) who helps compete now, and could possibly be flipped in a year for more picks.

A deal with Porter, Harris, maybe one more high upside guy (RJ Hampton and/or Zeke Nnaji?), and a handful of picks isn't a bad starter template.

 

This.

They just have to be able to get to their spots and it’s a wrap.

This is what makes KD so great few dribbles gets to his spot and it’s a wrap.

 

yeah...me too. I think the goal should be a 2-3 year turnaround. Gives time for Wood, MPJ and Tate to fully develop, then you have Gordon and Wall as expirings, plus all the picks.

If we can just hang around playoff contention, then you could enter 2022 free agency looking like the place to be.

 

As a win later piece, yes. Brown is the better win now player, and actually fills a legitimate hole in Denver, but he does not fit in Houston. He can be a #3 on a championship team, but he’s not the type of guy that could attract other stars to come to Houston. MPJ has that potential.

 

I see no way where Denver ships off mpj and doesn’t get harden in return. If they are moving him, they should be getting harden back otherwise just keep porter in Denver

 

so again that begs the question, if Brown can’t get you MPJ, then how in the world is Boston supposed to get Harden with him?

 

I said an elite player not elite offensive player.

Duncan could get his own shot at crunchtime and could beat a guy off the dribble.

Shaq commanded double teams.

I would not trade Harden for Allen or Miller being the centerpiece because of them not being true franchise players IMO.