I am still flabbergasted that the Houston Rockets gave up CP3 and Capela - after going 57-3 with all three of them playing together. You don't break that up - you build on that.... Really mad that the organization let Harden call for a trade, and worse that they made the trade when they KNEW....MOREY KNEW that it was a crap trade. I am sure that is why Morey left, but he should have had the stones to quit on the spot.......just say...I will not make that trade it is a bad idea and if you want it, I resign. This being CP3s team in Phoenix, makes it extra special he led them there, he was not 2nd fiddle. DD
I blame all 3, CP for sucking in 2019 and never healthy while in Houston. Then all of a sudden slimmed down vegan diet once he leaves and never gets injured. Harden for getting mad at CP and probably in Tilmans ears to get rid of him Tilman for pushing that trade through and generally being cheap
To me a lot of it came down to Harden being hard to pair with other stars. Howard, CP3, Russ.. r never “clicked”. were they the best stars next to Harden? No. Would a 100% healthy Nets team still be a favorite to win the title? Yes. Would an improved Harden/CP3/Capela squad, especially assuming a healthy CP3 and no more Warriors dynasty be in lone to win a ring this year? Yes. Harden with other great players absolutely can win a ring… but from a personality standpoint he just always seemed to have problems with it…
I blame Morey for a lot and don't have the same reverence for him that a lot of posters do here (yes, I'm more than glad we kept our pick, but top-4 is a very weak protection considering the number of picks we traded away...should have been MUCH more protected than that), but I think Harden has to take the lions share of the blame for the CP3 trade. What was the alternative for Morey? Trade Harden? I don't see how you do that, not at that stage in his career, and not for a player who was coming off consecutive injured seasons. Even knowing what we know now, there's just no way you part with Harden while he's still having MVP seasons like that, and CP3's value was low enough given his contract, age, and health questions, that the team wasn't going to get much for him until and unless he was able to put together a solid season.
in terms of actual, on-the-court play, the only player Harden seemed to ever develop chemistry with was Capella. Everyone else just seemed to be either (a) a target on the 3 point line; (b) someone to cover for his defensive lapses; or (3) ignored completely. For all his gifts, Harden never seemed to have asked himself “What can I do to help my teammates succeed?” and in fact seemed to have little respect for his teammates. That being said, I won’t put all the blame on him - the Rockets chose to pursue and sign players that offered few complimentary skills to Harden (like actual deadeye 3point shooters or legit big men with outside games) and also allowed multiple players to walk instead of getting value back via trades. All in all it seems like a great opportunity was wasted by all involved.
Don’t forget letting go of D. I’m happy for D-Mo. He gave up millions to play in China with Jo Chee aka the new Evan Mobley.
Absolutely, however more Harden he always had the franchise by the balls. Morey advised against it and Tillman forced Morey’s hand.
Couldn't have said it any better. Cp3 couldn't help that injury anymore than Harden could have prevented his this season. Maybe Harden should change is diet?
What's the spin on Tilman publicly taking credit for the trade and calling CP3 "the worst contract in sports"? Do tell. I'm not a big Harden fan, more than happy for him to share blame for bringing in his BFF. There was no way any analytics supported Westbrook as a good player. Every advanced stat has known Westbrook is fool's gold since before his MVP. For that reason alone, plus Tilman taking credit, plus Locked On Rockets saying it was Harden who pushed it, I'm not really giving Morey much liablity. On the contrary, I think that was when Morey decided OK, I'm out as soon as this fails.
Some people will say "Booker!!" But I also thought what CP3 did with OKC last year with Schroder was telling.
Blaming Morey is dumb. Tillman is on record as saying management had cold feet but he pushed it through. And to expect him to resign on the spot? He would be a HORRIBLE GM if he were the kind of person to make major decisions on impulse like that in the heat of the moment. Further, he'd likely never work for another NBA owner as NONE of them, no matter how much they may say otherwise, truly want a manager that will outright defy them and possibly even make them look dumb. He would have been assigning all blame to Tillman. Other owners would have seen it as a tantrum. And that's without even getting into the human element. Morey had been there since 2006. He knew that organization inside and out. He had built friendships and relationships both inside the organization and without. He had built a home here. He had children in schools here. They had friends. As did his wife (and she'd have also murdered him if he resigned on the spot without discussing it with her btw). You're saying that within the course of a negotiation that happened over just a few days he should decide to recklessly abandon all of that with very little thought? No. He did what a smart man would do. He took time to think it through and when he arrived at his decision he began planning his exit strategy. He then left after he had time to discuss it with everyone who mattered and had tied up all loose ends. Blame Tillman and Harden all you want, but pointing the finger at Morey here is one of the dumber takes you've ever had on this board and I can remember when you said Kyle Lowry was a career bench warmer and that Aaron Brooks should start over him.
Remember that time Harden lost 114-75 and had 10 points on 2-11 shooting in game 6 against a Spurs team without Kawhi? Seems like a poetic answer to your question. Paul took a Clippers team without Kawhi and put up 41 and 3 steals in game 6 to close it out.