Harden was never overweight he wore a fat suit when he was trying to get traded and that was where the rumors started but he was never seen as fat before or after that period. The funny thing with Harden is although he went viral for that "Giannis all athleticism" clip Harden himself also needs to be in shape and athletic in order to do his moves. If you remember back in Philly he looked so washed and basically scared Morey into rescinding his max deal, but in reality he was still just recovering from his leg injury and building back his quickness and athleticism. Like I remember Embiid even said "Harden isnt Houston Harden anymore" back then now he is fully recovered he is back to scoring 25+ ppg a night.
Correct me if I’m wrong but isn’t the most realistic option him declining his player option next season and doing a S&T with Fred’s contract? Maybe FVV + DFS depending how big of a discount he’ll take?
All I know is that James Harden is 36 years old and is averaging 28 points a game on 18 shots a game and also is getting 9 assists, 6 rebounds and over a steal a game. He is getting to the line over 9 times a game. He is in the top 10 all time in VORP. He will pass up Kareem this year and should finish in the top 5 all time by the time he retires. He is top 15 all time in Win Shares, and he will pass Shaq and Moses this season, and should end his career top 10 all time. He is going to finish in the top dozen all time in player efficiency all time. He is the second most prolific free throw shooter in NBA history. He will retire in the top 5-6 all time on the NBA scoring list nestled between Kobe and Jordan on the list. At his peak he averaged 49 points per 100 possessions... Michael Jordan never averaged over 46 points per 100 possessions.
Love Harden he is a rockets legend but I would not want him on this team even if he got bought out and we could bring him in the for the minimum.
I’d bring him in if it guarantees a spot in the finals and the price was low. But the problem would be that Harden minutes means you’re sacrificing one of the defensive players so now you’ve got a bunch of holes on D.
Harden and Durant would be instant Thunder......lol....back to the old days....and Brooklyn. Enough drama .....
If you think the team defers too much to Durant and thereby disrupts the growth of the young core, it would be five times more with Harden. Durant can play off ball. Harden can't. He's not wrong to say that he's the system. When you have Harden, everybody else has to adjust their game around him. In a sense, he makes his teammates better because he's a great playmaker. But you have to play his brand of game to benefit from his playmaking. He is still performing on a very high level. But his team, even with a healthy Kawhi is in the lower tier of the league. That means he's no longer the prime Harden who could carry a mediocre team to the playoffs. I wouldn't want him disrupting what we are building now.
Harden is an amazing player. He can do things on the court that look so easy. He did some amazing surgical precision basketball; and his style was unique and effective, but not the most viewer friendly. However it’s ironic that Harden left Houston to chase title aspirations, and now Houston is so much closer to a title than any of the past 3 teams he’s been on since forcing Houston to trade him. The trade worked out much better for the Rockets than Harden.
