Price never mattered for this rockets team. Acting like it suddenly came true after last night is nonsense. Folks waiting and hoping the sixers lose this series just to apply that logic to why harden shouldn’t be signed is exactly what some of you are waiting for. Hoping and praying because that’s how most knee jerk short sighted folks are on cf’s he’s been an elite player maker all year long and impacting winning at a high level. I don’t need the next 6 games or whatever to decide on whether that changes. It doesn’t. Acting like the next few games is the end all be all makes no sense
Harden had a great game. Good for him. Bravo! Don't think he will play that way the rest of the series, much less if he came to Houston to play. Doesn't move the needle for me. Still don't want.
So one game doesn’t matter, but next few do? Those of us that want Harden aren’t just looking at this one game. It’s just icing on the cake.
I too would probably try my best to look elsewhere to upgrade this team and also think it’s likely last night will probably be his best playoff game of this year, but I think theoretically Houston would want Harden not because he was able to score 45 in game where Embiid was out and he was given free reign to do it all. It’s that the last 3+ years probably only Jokic has been a better table setter for other guys(and during his career there has been MAYBE 2-3 players who were legitimately better passers than him(Lebron, Jokic, CP3?)). Houston would want Harden because he has consistently shown the ability to get 10+ assists and make others around him better while still being a 2nd/3rd scorer with good efficiency even in the downside of his career. In my opinion it really is an interesting scenario with both sides having pretty good arguments why we should or shouldn’t pursue him.
The ONLY reason to not sign Harden is if it precludes you from getting another max player in the next year to 3 years that is younger. It is called keeping your powder dry. I don’t think we will be able to get a true no. 2 like Jaylen Brown without giving away 2 of our young core and paying him the max on an extension. It would not be worth it. That would be a hell of a gamble. To me the only big time youngish vet that you might hold out hope for is Luka demanding a trade. Another scenario might be to be able to trade for Bridges and wait for Jaylen to play out his contract and then give him the max. Who else? Harden is a perfect fit to help this team take the next step to being contenders again. If you could get Harden and a Bridges you might even be more than a play-in or first round fodder team next year. If Harden won’t come then we need to make a reasonable trade for Conley or Caruso to help mentor our young guys. Unlike most on here, I also think we have the ammunition to pry Bridges away from Nets without giving away Jabari, Green, or Sengun especially if we include this year’s draft pick if it is worse than top 2.
More like the “no way Harden” folks are much less talkative, especially DD. If Harden has anything less than another historic game, you will all be out in force.
Both are true. My camp is “Harden but not at any cost”. There are actually folks with a nuanced approach towards potentially maxing out an aging guard who is increasingly playing less.
If Harden comes back, it'll be hard for him to destroy the team again because it's already terrible. So there's that.
That means you are essentially in the “Don’t want Harden” camp because he will almost certainly be commanding the max.
Me too! I’m on record for wanting Harden but not for the 4 year Max. Still haven’t heard any other realistic option that would have the impact of a Harden signing at a reasonable 35m a year, 3 year option. If we can’t get Harden, I want Conley or Caruso at a reasonable cost. No way would I overpay for VanFleet, Dame, or Trey.
Pretty much. Harden can certainly give us a discount. I may change my mind if we get Wemby and Harden is amenable to 3 year deal. Sounds like you are in the “whatever it takes camp”.
People against bringing back Harden are more concerned about his age rather than current play. He could play great for the rest of the playoffs but he's still 33 years old and looking for a max deal this summer. I doubt anyone feels 100% confident that he'll live up to that kind of contract. I don't mind bringing Harden back. He's clearly no longer prime Harden, but his play the past three seasons has been consistent. Philly's offensive pre-Harden was league average, with Harden they are top five. He knows how to run an offense and is still efficient. I think his game is more patient and cerebral now that he's taking 14 shots per game vs when he was taking 24. I think he can do for our young prospects what CP3 did for OKC and Phoenix. Our team rushed to dump CP3 over age and injury concerns and that was clearly a miscalculation. He took a lot of pressure off Booker and Ayton even if he was never prime CP3 again. I definitely understand if people are anti-Harden. He's older and we couldn't get it done even in his prime. I just disagree with people that would rather have someone like FVV just because he's younger. FVV has always been a bad defender so there's no upgrade there. Unlike Jalen Brunson in Dallas, FVV's been Toronto's main playmaker in the four seasons since Kawhi left so we know what he's capable of. I just don't see the upside as FVV is also looking for a massive deal.
Points in favor of Harden having a strong twilight to his career: "Hall of fame point guard" has been a good archetype to stay very good into your late 30s; Stockton, Nash, Kidd, and now CP3 have all done it. Harden's game is more based on skills and IQ than athleticism. That should continue to translate as he ages if he can stay healthy. He has shown signs of being able to adapt his game to stay productive as he ages, taking more midrange shots and creating more plays for others as his ability to get into the paint has declined. Points against Harden having a strong twilight to his career: Most of those point guards who stayed good late into their careers were smaller, lighter, and appeared in better shape than Harden, who is looking pretty chunky these days and has always been more of a combo guard. He has already shown signs of having more injuries as he gets older, missing 28 games in 20/21, 17 games in 21/22, and 24 games this season. I'm just really torn. I can see him putting up like 16 and 11 when he's 37. I could also see his escalating injuries catching up with him and chasing him out of the league. Or anything in between.
