I can see Denver moving Gary Harris since he's been a big disappointment for them. Given that, what if we got Jaylen Brown, Michael Porter Jr, and Gary Harris (trading away Harden/Tucker) Denver would get Marcus Smart and Theis (trading away MPJ/Harris). Boston would get Harden and Tucker (trading away Brown, Smart, and Theis). Who says no?
Denver is in a tough spot from a roster construction standpoint regarding Porter Jr. He’s an insanely talented scorer, but, at the moment, he’s disinterested in playing defense, and he’s a bad team defender. If they had four above average defenders around him, his defensive woes wouldn’t be problematic. However, on a team with two average to below average defenders as your centerpieces (Jokic and Murray), it’s a major problem. Denver would love to have someone like P.J. Tucker to sandwich between Porter and Jokic. Millsap was that defender last year, and perhaps JaMychal Green fills the bill this year. But, if they are committed to starting Porter, Jokic and Murray together, they need elite defenders at SG and either SF or PF. They also need to trade Will Barton in that scenario because unless they are willing to start him instead of Gary Harris, he’s no longer happy coming off the bench. Frankly, I don’t blame him. He’s a better player than Gary Harris at this point in his career, and he’s a solid starter in the NBA.
Same injury as KD and Wall right? He’s expected to make a full recovery. Same age as Wall year younger than Harden. Considering the risk you could probably pry more from GS. Then adding Harden to Curry immediately vaults them back to contender status. I’d rather roll this dice than take on Simmons and his inability to shoot.
Denver says no in a heartbeat. Unless you include a ton of first-round draft picks, they aren’t trading Porter for Marcus Smart and Daniel Theis.
Klay Thompson is trying to come back from what DeMarcus Cousins had happen to him, just in reverse order. Wall and KD only ruptured their achilles tendons. Thompson first suffered a torn ACL, and towards the end of his recovery from that injury, ruptured his achilles. Considering his contract, there is no way the Rockets should take him off the Warriors’ hands.
Gary Harris’ remaining contract isn’t so bad (19 million this year, 20 million next year) that they would attach Porter to unload it. They definitely wouldn’t do it to get a marginal upgrade on Harris in Smart and a backup center in Theis.
Smart is more than a "marginal" upgrade over Gary Harris. I don't think you understand how much Harris has regressed.
I’m aware how much Harris has regressed offensively, and you are right that Smart is more than a marginal upgrade. However, Harris is still a very good on-ball defender and team defender, which is why he is still starting for the Nuggets over Will Barton. Marcus Smart is clearly a better player because he’s an all-NBA-caliber defender, and he has better playmaking skills than Harris. Either way, the Nuggets would hang up the phone immediately if the Celtics offered them Theis and Marcus Smart for Porter and Harris. It’s a terrible deal for them unless the Celtics included numerous first-round picks. You don’t give up on someone that has franchise-player talent in Porter for an elite role player in Marcus Smart and a backup center in Daniel Theis. You certainly don’t do it to unload Gary Harris’ remaining $39 million that is off the books after next season.
I am leery of MPJ cuz of his injury. That aint a normal injury doctors were questioning his future in the sport. A bad fall = early retirement with that kind of previous injury. Maybe you werent around during the MacMing Dynasty but personally Ive had enough of Mr. Glass superstars I dont wanns get MPJ as a major piece only for him to be Parsons 2.0 and never play due to injury. That package of Philly doesnt need Denver it already gives the Rox the kitchen sink for Harden and PJ (who they dont wanna extend anyway). The problem is I doubt Morey wants that kind of deal for Harden he likely wants a 1 for 1 swap or maybe just add Thybulle as sweetener.
Morey can say whatever he wants but what I listed is the minimum he'll end up paying for Harden if the 76ers do end up landing him. Simmons has not advanced an inch offensively. He destroys spacing and would need a team specifically built around him. That will never include Embiid as a first option. Getting MPJ on top of Simmons or Brown in a deal should be the goal even if 0 other assets are coming back. I agree, his back is scary but it's worth risking ancillary assets for him. Obviously the Rockets would need another All-star type talent in the deal to make me feel comfortable about taking on MPJ as a major piece of the trade The question becomes do you prefer 2 more young guys with All-Defense (Thybulle) or All-Star(Maxey) potential and a few scratchers (picks) or do you prefer a guy who could become a Superstar next to another guy who could become a superstar (Simmons or Brown)?
Ben Simmons is hyped from highlight vids. There's no way a 1-to-1 swap of Harden for Simmons is acceptable. Keep putting Harden on the court, averaging 36 pts and eventually they'll add more pieces to a trade deal. Even then, I'd fish for more. Harden is too good. You know he's going to embarrass us the first time he plays against us too. The times Harden was focused he was truly terrifying against his former team. It's only in the recent years where he just didn't care about beating them.
if they were to trade porter you can get it wouldn't be for no damn marcus smart and daniel theis. thats a joke for a player that young, with that size and skill already showing signs of being a star. the only thing he really needs to do is get stronger. he will be a real force on both ends once that happens. with that in mind they are more likely to max him than trade him for those scraps.
You realize that MPJ was benched in the playoffs because of his poor defense, right? Additionally, his current contract ends at the end of next season. You're projecting tremendous growth in a 2 year period, and frankly, I don't see that happening in Denver. I also don't see Denver wanting 3 max contract players on its roster.
Here's a good litmus test: if you as a Rockets fan wants a certain trade to happen and think it's fair, most likely it's not fair and the other team doesn't want it to happen. Only love to my Rockets brethren here, but many in our tribe are too biased when it comes to getting gold for trash. Other teams' fans suffer from the same bias.
