Would you trade James Harden for Kevin Love if need be?

What I really question is if Harden has that extra motor. He just seems too passive and looks for the foul too much. Did you see the way he was playing in the 4th during game 6? When the Rockets were just posting up Dwight, Harden and everyone else just stood around and stared. No movement or nothing.

Just watching the Spurs and OKC series just shows a TEAM will overcome individual talent. Rockets don't play as a team.

 

Umm, even the Spurs have almost no movement when the play calls for a post up, it's because it prevents the post player from having to watch for defenders sliding through.

Try doing a diagram of a post up, make the players move around and see what you can do with the defenders. Post ups are iso plays with your back to the basket, which requires the others to get out of the way.

Watch a Lebron post up, everyone clears out, although they usually move one person directly ahead of him as a 3 point shooter to open up more space, but Lebron has better handles and hasn't had 4569075238 turnovers to that man's defender slapping his dribble.

 

No its really not worth listening to any of ESPN's analysis.

A 24 year old, injury free, superstar, locked into a multiple year contract into his prime is the most valuable commodity in the NBA. That is the prize Morey has been working towards for 3 years.

If ESPN, you, LOFs, Minnesota...hell...anyone....actually believes there is any chance whatsoever that Morey trades Harden for an expiring contract, well, frankly they are a moron.

It just isn't going to happen, nor should it.

 

Maybe I heard it wrong, but I don't think they were saying Thompson was better than Harden, but the package of players (Lee, Barnes and Thompson) was greater than Harden alone.

 

Larsv8, serious question here.

Exclude the contract and everything.

Just straight up, who is the better player and has more upside.

Harden or Love?

 

I honestly think the biggest problem with the whole Love thing is the media doesn't recognise what Minnesota wants, maybe the reasons are deliberate (ie it's tanking), but cyberx kind of hit a nail there, Morey is looking for what draft pick he can get for Parsons. Minnesota aren't getting a star back and they don't want a package of mediocre (like what Stalin vetoed on CP3), they want picks (assets that appreciate until exercised) rather than players (assets that depreciate) other than first or maybe 2nd year guys so they can go suck it up and have a shot at getting KG with 3 (Thon Maker) or some other guy in future. I think that Flip Saunders, Mchale's college friend, was also the assistant GM in Boston when their goal was clearly "trade it all for picks" solidifies it.

When we were 9th, if we had a star player, would you have wanted to trade him for bit pieces, guys you might need to overpay to keep in the next year and would keep you from the high lottery or future assets that aren't really a cost impediment for 5 or 6 whilst giving you a shot at the high lottery?

Look at Orlando, they could have taken our **** package, or they could have gotten Oladipo and now probably Exum, and maybe another person next year on top of one of their guys (Vucevic) working. The only reason what we traded for Harden worked was because OKC as a contender needed immediate help, for non contenders like Minnesota (and Orlando before them), immediate help is bad. So these people in the media who think Golden State are the front runners are either really ****ing evil, and are lying to us, or really ****ing stupid and don't understand what's going on (credit John Stewart for the final line)

 

Toss up.

Depends on your team strengths and weaknesses.

 

How about get rid of McFail and get a decent coach first.

 

Hell to the no. Who the hell is going to score he ball and handle it in the most crucial moments?

 

Idiotic opinions have always been dismissed on this board.

But if you insist on your idiotic opinion, let's have a straight up bet. Signature, tip-jar, whatever you want. I say Morey will not trade Harden for Love. You say he does.

If the Rockets do trade Harden for Love, or that Woj or an extremely reputable source states the Rockets did make the offer but the Wolves rejected it, then you win the bet.

If the Rockets trade for Love in a deal that does not involve Harden, or Love gets traded elsewhere and it comes out from Woj/other reputable source stating the Rockets never offered Harden, then I win the bet.

If you truly believe you are right, pony up some money for it.

 

WHO GIVES A ISH, WHEN YOU CAN HAVE BOTH.

AND LOVE IS BETTER LOL

 

Harden's low max deal is the 5th or 6th best contract in the nba, behind Durant and Lebron (because they're Durant and Lebron), Davis, because it's 2 more years of a rookie deal + extension/rfa rights for a pretty amazing player, Curry's discount deal and maybe Lillard's rookie deal.

It's kind of comical to think that a team would trade 4 years of a guy that comes 5th in the mvp race at 24, for the final year of any player but those first 2.

 

Harden for Love only makes sense if you KNOW your getting Carmelo. I believe you have to have at least one elite attacking wing/guard in today's game to be a contender(or you have to play elite defense in the case of Chicago/Indy). Handcheck rules slant today's game so those players give you a higher percentage of points. If you trade Harden away, I don't know where you'll find a 20+ point scorer & guy who draws a lot of fouls if not Melo.

That being said, knowing how Morey likes to test the limits of conventional basketball wisdom, I could see him going all in surrounding Dwight and Love with a bunch of 3 & "D" guys, limiting extra possessions, and taking lots of 3s. Ultimately Morey knows the team that takes more 3s wins IF they get over a certain number of possessions and you do that either by upping the pace or limiting turnovers & having a lopsided rebound edge.

On a personal level I like Harden, but the red flags with him are starting to pile up for me:
- has a long history of not just shrinking, but outright sucking in high pressure games.
- has a well documented hard partying streak(part of that is being a 24 yr old celeb I'm sure)
- doesn't appear to be motivated to be in the NBA level shape. That's not something you can get away with for very long in the modern NBA where most players take that very seriously because it's part of their job.
- did anyone else remember that photo of Harden changing his socks - his feet look legitimately malformed. How are those feet suppose to hold up for another 5+ years on a guy who appears to be very top heavy.
These are all things he can get away with at 24 but not in the long term.

On the other hand Kevin Love at 25 has:
- improved his conditioning & physique dramatically
- improved as a rebounder & scorer
- improved his game to become a dangerous 3 point threat
- acts like a team first type of guy


Harden as a 2nd or 3rd banana - YES. Harden as your team's best player? No.

 

Toss up as in coin flipping? Morey, is that u?

 

Love has not retired yet buddy.

 

To be fair, love didnt have teammates like dwight howard, omer asik, n patrick beverley during his 4 failed seasons as your argument.

 

Love's team mates were better than what Harden had last year.

 

J.Harden for M.Carter Williams and the 3rd pick or 10th pick ?