https://sports.yahoo.com/chris-paul...-in-shoving-suns-to-nba-finals-165811031.html “It’s a long time coming, and I’m finally happy he has a chance to win a title. But it’s great to see all the hard work paying off to get to this point,” C.J. Paul told Yahoo Sports. “Daryl Morey said he wasn’t going to trade Chris. Think about that. And now he’s going to the Finals on a team that three and four years ago he never would have played at. We thought Houston was going to be the last stop, and now it’s been two more stops. We’re just enjoying this, and I’m just happy for Chris.” “I would say the pivotal moment of his career was not being able to help Houston when he pulled his hamstring in the conference finals against Golden State. You think you’ve done everything and your body just let you down,” C.J. Paul told Yahoo Sports. “And then in December, it happened again. That changed his mindset. We changed trainers, he switched up his diet and he’s pretty much been durable ever since. But before, he was always rehabbing to make himself better.” “People wrote him off. When you put him with guys he can lead, the sky’s the limit,” C.J. Paul told Yahoo Sports. “Oklahoma City and Phoenix allowed him to be himself and lead. When he played football growing up, he was the leader. That’s what he does. This was a great situation for him.”
Omg. You guys will have it every which way. If he was so selfish and toxic, he would not just completely change personalities because the new team already has a guy. That's ludicrous. And if he had been so selfish and toxic, his former coach and GM would want nothing to do with him. NOTHING. It says at the very least that that ONE SINGLE STORY that sourced people "close to Westbrook" which Westbrook denied, was WAY off base. I have zero doubt that Harden ran the show but it very clearly wasn't a problem for either Daryl Morey or Mike D'Antoni and they were ready to immediately go back to war with him.
It makes perfect sense if you think about it. In Houston, Harden knew the team revolved around him. In Brooklyn, he knows it doesn't. People adapt to their circumstances. Again, it makes perfect sense.
57-3 with Capela, Harden, CP3 Capela was key. HOF vs Rocket fans - interesting to see, isn't it. They are like Jeremy Lin fans. DD
I think Harden in his mind knows who the Alpha guys he respect in the league are. I think he accepts that he's inferior to Durant... But, I don't think he sees himself running second fiddle to CP3, Howard, Westbrook, etc... I think Harden runs second fiddle to a handful of guys in the league, beyond that, he's nothing short of the man on any other team.. I don't even think that Harden sees himself as second to even Kyrie Irving. I am a huge fan of Hardens crafty skills, I think he has definitely changed how NBA Basketball is played. He has always reminded me of the that crafty guy who doesn't seem like he fits in the playground, but is always schooling everyone. Harden has got to have one of the highest Basketball IQ's in all of basketball.
Hindsight is 20/20. I don't place as much blame on Tilman as I do Harden. No way Fertita would've traded him if Harden hadn't wanted it done. This franchise revolved around Harden. There was legit concern about Chris Paul's health and trading for Westbrook was them trying to extend the championship window for the Houston Rockets. That failed miserably, but I can't fault the Rockets for trying to do everything they could to please their superstar and win a championship - only Harden for failing to live up to expectations.
Tilman Fertitta wanted to move Chris Paul as much as Harden did. He was the driving force to attach so much draft compensation to get the deal done.
Wood is better than Clint and I love Clint. Either way we would have assets to improve if Paul trade is not done. His contract is worth it.
Don't forget Harden made a trade ultimatum to get the Westbrook trade done. What was Fertita supposed to do in that situation? Looking back on it he probably should've traded Harden and kept Chris Paul, but no one thought they could win a championship at that time with CP as the main superstar.
If I had to pick between Harden and Durant I'm picking Durant every single time. Harden is good in the regular season but he's never proven he can hang deep in the playoffs when it counts.
did you just pluck that out of the sky? Harden never made a trade ultimatum to get westbrick here, in fact morey let harden know the westbrick trade was likely to happen and he was fine with it. folks love to make up silly nonsense around here to push whatever fake news they want to push. Morey said of Harden. "When I let him know it probably wasn't going to happen, he was good. He understood. He said, 'Hey, if there's a way to make it happen, let's do it,' but he understands that you can't just snap your fingers and make things happen in the NBA. No one is out there trying to help us. It's always a dynamic when you're trying to get the deal done." And plenty of folks understood cp3 who was going to age very well and was still an impact player and with him and harden, they would still be the best backcourt in the league today.
Durant has proven nothing without a super team. Absolutely nothing. Should also check Durant's OKC post season numbers and Harden's Houston numbers. Oh yea....and that Harden took him on with the biggest super team ever and would have won had Cp3 not gotten injured. He then outperformed Durant and Curry in the same series the very next year. He can hang.
actually harden proved more than durant in their respective careers... durant only proved he needs a 5 allstars team to win it all (and sometimes even that isnt enough so he needs the refs to bail him out)
Yes, he did, but he had 2 more years on his contract. The org panicked. Oh, right Durant has a ring....he won.....what was your point again? DD
