My informed speculation on the end of Harden's tenure

I agree that Harden wanted out after the bubble, intrigued by the idea of joining up with KD and (perhaps) MDA in Brooklyn and he convinced himself that the situation in Houston was not going to get any better. I think Morey left with the knowledge that Harden was making trade demands and it would be difficult to convince him to stay — it wasn’t the other way around.

 

You might want to check his press conference.

 

Who’s press conference? If Morey’s, what of it?

 

Harden's Nets conference.

 

Harden's. They asked Harden if he would still be in Houston if Daryl was here and he just stated that he couldn't answer that question.

 

I think harden wanted out after Morey was gone. Before that he said he didn’t want out.

Morey was a guy that catered to him and coddled him.

Once Morey was out and the Rockets started talking about culture change and holding guys accountable he wanted no parts of that. None of ‘his’ guys were here anymore.

So of course he didn’t like a new guy coming in and trying to change the way he had set stuff up around here. This was his team. Everything revolves around him. The “I want to win” thing is just something that sounds good because he can’t come out and say the organization no longer completely revolves around me and caters to my every whim so I’m going to pout, feel sorry for myself, get fat and ask out.

That’s why he has the nets as his number 1 option. Dantoni is there. They already let kyrie do whatever he wants. Nash a wet behind the ears coach. He can go up there and basically do what he wants again.

BUT the first two games back he was basically doing his own thing and putting up tons of points. Seemed like he was content. Wall comes back. Things change a little but still ok. Rockets play a good game and He comes out and says “this team can do something special”. He was still doing quite a bit of iso mind you. He didn’t have to say that. But he did.

Rockets come out, hit a rough couple games. Silas comes out and says we are isoing too much. He goes to work on the offense.

after silas’ comments James comes out and plays the most passive basketball he’s played since being here. Standing around. Not doing much. Like he was trying to prove a point.

James doesn’t want to move off ball. He didn’t like the ball being taken out of his hands. So when just a few days prior there were articles that the Rockets could keep him all season, James is praising the team saying they could do something special.....


Bam the Lakers come to town. Silas has preached against all that iso crap every possession. Harden in the middle of his passive aggressive tantrum pity party...Rockets get stomped twice.

now all of a sudden the team is not good enough talent wise. When he had recently said “they could do something special”


The guy is full of ****.

 

1, That send off was not glorious. OKC recognized they couldn't win and wanted to rebuild ASAP and did so by trading Paul George first.

In that deep frustration after Dame Lillard killed them off either OKC talked WB into it or WB came to the realization himself, not reluctantly though, Westbrook gave the nod, but do not think Presti was glad to do so.

It just was not messy. It was a relatively quick decision. Boom PG13, Boom Westbrook gone.

2, I do not think Harden is dumb, he knew what he got himself into.
He knew it could get uglier than he thought.

He just thought he'd get the OK on the trade sooner as the organization has coddled him in the past but obviously Stone wasn't as accommodating as he was at Morey's side during those 8 years.

 

Kyrie will playing Saturday too...

 

Crazy thing is I was gonna make a conspiracy thread about how I think Brooklyn knew the only peices they had that appealed to us was Kyrie and KD. Of course we wasn't getting KD, so they told Kyrie to take and break for a few games while they get the trade done. Making it hard for any team to want to deal with him, even if it was us or a 3 way deal where he went somewhere else.

 

Are these 2 ideas mutually exclusive?

Harden loves and appreciates Houston but does not trust Tilman Fertitta or new Rockets FO?

 

Monbear strikes again.

 

I was expecting something good here. This is just a bunch of random stuff that happened and implying correlation equals causation. Not exactly Oceans 11 stuff here. But sure, maybe. Good luck Brooklyn. This all started (whether Harden knew it or not) the moment we traded for Westbrook and ended the moment Morey resigned.

We all knew the moment that we traded Paul AND draft capital (really, anything) for Westbrook that the franchise was boned if it didn't turn out well, and we knew it wouldn't turn out well. It was just a palpable feeling that almost all long-time Clutchfans had on that day. D'Antoni knew, Morey knew. Tilman Fertitta says his "basketball ops people got cold feet". That trade was the broken mirror, the black cat, the portent of impending doom. The beatdown to the Lakers was just a symbolic sealing of the coffin.

 

why is Clutch tweeting about a Nets player?

 

To me, it is clearly tampering, but the NBA takes that *official* view because it's impossible to consistently enforce it.

 

Harden made the Rockets, the Rockets.