Fans always have their love affairs with rookies. It's that mystery of unknown. Let's be real. The chances of any of our 3 first round picks achieving anything like Harden in two years are really slim to none.
Harden is not under the Arenas rule. So there won't be a poison pill offer. He will get the market price straight up. From the basketball POV, if both Lin and Lamb pan out (which is not too far fetched), I can see Harden being the 6th man, forming a great 3-man back court rotation.
Honestly, I don't see him fitting into the Rocket's roster very well. Both in terms of offensive scheme and team chemistry. SG is not a centerpiece position (unless its Kobe/Wade - which Harden is not). Moreover, dude is going to be bummed that he's not in OKC. We've seen that overpaying for 2nd tier stars just doesn't work (see: Knicks, Nets this year) unless there's a centerpiece that meshes well w/ the 2nd tier. Right now, the Rockets don't have a centerpiece. Better to wait til centerpiece (develops or acquired) arrives before adding 2ndary options/stars.
Do not want, hes not a number 1 go to guy.. The Finals could be an aberration instead of the norm, but he has the ability to disappear and thats far more deterring than any positives in his game I have confidence that Jeremy Lambs ceiling is higher than Hardens, and his ability to seperate from defenders is already better than Hardens
It was one series. But it was the ENTIRE series. He didn't show up once. And yes, he did make very significant contributions in the previous series. But once the championship was on the line, he shrunk and was so hesitant it was painful to watch. Granted, he's young and he was likely scared out of his mind, but it's not a good sign. I want to see one more year out of him before I like him as a player. In one play, he caught the ball near the FT line, he was WIDE open (8 seconds left on the clock), he hesitates with the ball for 3 FULL seconds to see if he could pass it out or in, and then FINALLY takes a hurried shot from that EXACT same spot; but by that time a defender was on him and contested the shot (which Harden bricked). He didn't want the pressure of taking that shot. It was pathetic.
Good news! Past transactions have no bearing on the success of this one! But almost all of those guys you listed are highest profile players of the last 5 years. It's a miracle if we DO get one.
Yeah I know. People said that about Lebron for years...I mean YEARS, not just one series. What about Kobe against Thunders? He choked big time! Many Lakers fans swore Kobe singlehandedly lost that series.
This is quite ridiculous on a few different levels- -First off the whole SG/Centerpiece thing- The most popular run offensive set run in the NBA is the pick and roll. This "play" , if you want to call it that, allows a single player to drive to the basket, break down the defense, and either create for himself, or create open space for his teamates to get a clean shot. One player, a big body post player setting the pick, everyone else get out of the way, and let that one guy operate his way in the paint to get a good shot. There are few guys in the NBA that were more deadly over the course of a season and in the first couple round of the playoffs in the Pick and Roll than James Harden. Yes, he had a terrible Finals series, but thats because he was taken out of his comfort zone by the Miami Heat defense, and the team didn't adjust well. Harden will learn, adapt, and diversify his game in the future. Westbrook and Durant put up better numbers, but Harden might be the best guy on the team at playing outside of their offensive sets to create a shot on his own. Also, the SG and the PG position can be interchangeable in the offensive system the Rockets run. PG/SG doesn't really matter. What matters is what guard will be facilitating the offense from.... you guessed it... the Pick and Roll. What matters in regards to position is what position he can guard. In most game situations he will guard the 2 guard. The only issue with centering your offensive system around Harden, is that it will force the other guard in this set to the wings to operate mostly as a 3 point shooting threat. Ok, enough on that. Can he be the centerpiece?... he sure can be the centerpiece of an offensive gameplan, so why can't he be one of the centerpiece players on your team???.... Not enough Youtube video's for you??? Im a little confused. -Now onto the Happiness factor- Come on now. If Harden can't agree to terms on an extension before the beginning of this season then he is pretty much agreeing that his days in OKC are numbered if not overwith and he's going to chase a max contract with another team. If OKC was going to pay him the max anyways next Summer then there wouldn't be this huge push to extend him early. This is just ridiculous. If he comes to Houston on a max contract then he's going to be smiling from ear to ear. If he just wants to win titles under the shadows of his buddies KD and Westbrook AT A MAJOR DISCOUNT then he is more than entitled do by signing that extension. If he doesn't sign by October 31st then he is accepting the fact that he will be playing elsewhere next season.
We've already got a guy who needs the ball in his hands to be effective (Lin) so you're saying we should bring in Harden to start at the 2 to do basically the same thing (but better)? Or worse yet, we're going to pay him max to sit behind the arc or make baseline cuts? Or do you think he's going to be the 6th man - cause he'll be ok coming off the bench behind Lamb? (he won't be ok with that) Tell me how he fits into the Rocket's roster as it sits now.
We've also already got a guy on the roster who can play center very well, but does that mean we shouldn't aquire Dwight Howard if he was still available? Bad example.. I know, I know... its too soon. Look, Ginobili and Tony Parker have played with each other just fine over the years. Yes, I completely agree that he diminishes the role of Jeremy Lin if they are on the court together in this system. They duplicate each other quite a bit. If they were to make this move, I think they would need to change some things around, and diversify their sets earlier in games. That being said, you have a known vs. an unknown. Harden has being doing it for 2 straight season, and been a go-to option late in games frequently with major success. Jeremy Lin has for just a few weeks. If you get the opportunity to get Harden, even at the expense of diminishing Lin's role late in games..... YOU DO IT ALL DAY LONG. I like both players, and think they could figure it out. You could play a 3 guard rotation of Lin/Lamb/Harden and play them equal minutes. Who knows, but even if its at the expense of Lin, you still bring him in.
Of course Harden is more known. If someone asked, Harden or Lin? Of course, Harden as you say ALL DAY LONG. But that said, what's the point of acquiring a player that frustrates the situation as opposed to complementing it? If Lin wasn't being paid $15 million, I'd say go for it pay max for Harden. But as it stands, I don't think it would be the most prudent move - for basketball reasons and/or cap reasons. It's the choice between creating a roster that allows all the players to fully live up to their supposed potential vs. shackling them by having overlapping skill sets. If you told me we could trade Lin for Harden right now - it would be a done deal - but as it is I say go with what we got and let's try to maximize with what we have/what we invested in. Also Ginobilli is not the greatest example - he came into the league late and plays under Pop - different situation/culture/etc.
- Any player who has the highest efficiency in isolations in the league will fit into any team. - Any shooter who is at elite level at FTA will fit into any team. The best offensive threats in the league attempt the most FT's. That rule hasn't changed since the bball was invented - Any player who has the second highest true shooting % in the league will fit into any team. A team with the same offensive efficiency as Harden last season will become a dynasty.
Not sure what Ginobilli's experience level has to do with anything. Him and Parker are both P&R attacking guards who have played well together for years. Point being, it is possible to have two of those on the floor together and the team not implode on offense. Also, Ginobilli is a very good 3 point shooter, which Harden has also shown he can do well. if the play is running through Lin, then Im sure that Harden is capable of knocking down a shot from the outside if the ball is rotated back towards him. Same with Lin if he continues to improve on his shot. -Financial/Cap issues-The Rockets have 22.9 Million in guaranteed contracts for 2013/14.... Not really sure how signing Harden to the max hurts this teams financial situation. Even in 2014/15 when Lin and Asik's contracts hit the "poison pill" year the Rockets will still be at 52Mil with the current contracts the Rockets have + Harden at the max. Since they would not be a tax paying team they would still have the ability to offer the full mid-level exception to another free agent that year. Since Lin, and Asik would both be expiring that season, they also would be fairly easy to trade as an expiring contract. Im not really sure how this would be a major blow to this teams financial situation. -Back to basketball- Im still not sold on the thought that this would be "Shackling" Lin by aquiring Harden on the basketball court. I would agree that late in games Lin's role would be diminished on occassion, but there are 48 minutes in a basketball game. Lin will get his touches. If Dwayne Wade and Lebron James can play together, then Im sure Jeremy Lin and James Harden would find a way to both play the game of basketball together without running into each other on offense and kicking the ball out of bounds.
Hmm... color me convinced. My amorphous reservations about Harden have mostly been dissipated by dobro's hard work (thx).
No thank you, Clutchfans has been pretty dead the past few weeks. Its nice to have something of interest to discuss in the world of basketball.
