Is there a path that leads to a Championship in the Harden era?

You want to trade our 3 best players (including a perennial mvp and a former mvp) for bad contracts and picks from 2 teams that will be in the playoffs?

I heard the Kings are hiring. You sound like the perfect fit.

 

1. Crap on Westbrook for getting injured before the playoffs.

2. Defend Luc for getting injured before the playoffs.

3. Troll!

 

And a real PG and move James back to SG or even SF

 

The easiest way for fans is to imagine replacing Player A for Player B but aspects like chemistry, style of play are left out.

The issues with Harden isn't just on the court, it is his influence and input which players Morey should get.

Now it worked with Chris Paul but I recall his buddy Ty Lawson didn't work out and now Westbrook.

He just isn't a good associate GM giving advice. Should shut up more and draw up more plays for teammates.

 

And the probability to win a title is greater if he moved to the Leastern Conference.

Even Canada won a title.

 

We cannot. No picks, and a bad max that prevents us from getting good players. Said bad max player will also be injured for long spurts of times. We will tank without the benefits of tanking. The results of our suffering will go to another team.

 

This team needs more young talent. There's a clear ceiling to what the team can achieve if they're rolling out past-their-prime vets. As good as Jeff Green is or as good as Rivers could be, there's a ceiling there. The unfortunate part is that we don't have picks (or specifically high enough picks) to select players that can make impact sooner rather than later. This, of course, is a moot point if whoever we select as coach is reluctant to play rookies either because he don't want to develop young players or is more worried about W-Ls.

 

Honestly, no, I do not believe there is a path to a title anymore.

I was probably the most pessimistic person here about the Westbrook trade (maybe tied with @Clutch ). It wasn't the picks either, it was trading the better player, better fit. Three years in a row Westbrook has been dealing with an injury in the playoffs that was used to explain why the other teams sagged off him and let him kill his team with his shooting and poor decision making.

Maybe it gets better next year and you get lucky and one his weird hot streaks happens in the playoffs, but not for four rounds.

On top of that you simply aren't good enough even with both guys at their best. Roster is weak. Piss poor shooting, not enough creators...just lacking all around but capped out with no assets to go get anyone.

Plus a cheap owner and a city/team/organization that isn't on top of any FA list and never has been.

No, I'm afraid the window has almost completely closed.

You either need to be able to enjoy the Harden years for the entertainment value or you're going to be really angry.

 

I’ll challenge you to that

 

I think a Westbrook trade is fantasy land. Adding a significant player to the team is also probably fantasy land.

Will likely dump some salary then use the MLE to add a few vets off the scrap heap and sign some non guaranteed deals.

 

1. Hire the right coach. One who can establish a culture and who makes in game adjustments and doesn’t leave his rotations short.
2. Trade Eric Gordon and House now for a big or to clear cap space
3. Sign any of the following players:
Bogdan Bogdanovic
Marco Belinelli
Kyle Korver
Jerami Grant
Trez
Christian Wood
Joe Harris
Jamychal Green
Kelly Olynyk

And any other 3 point shooter that hits at a clip above 40%.

This team needs three point shooters and bigs who can at least hit a mid range jump shot if not a 3.

 

Yeah I think the fantasy land part is the Rockets making the deal, not someone trading for him.

 

The only thing you will get back from trading Westbrook is another terrible contract, just like what you get from trading Chris Paul's contract. Nobody is going to give you valuable assets to take Westbrook's dead weight off your hands.

And we don't need more 3&D players. We need BETTER 3&D players. And good 3&D players aren't as easy to get as we think. They are also not cheap.

We are the oldest team in the league. I feel like climbing a ladder to get out of the sewer only finding out the lid is locked when I get to the top. With our depleted assets, I don't know how we can significantly improve. The only positive assets we have are Harden, Covington, and Gordon. Westbrook is a negative asset. All the other guys have too low values to get you anything that matters. And we have no picks after all those LTS deals and the Westbrook trade.

 

Nope

 

Incoming Horford.

 

I think LeBron and Curry would make this team better, not Kawhi though.

LeBron does what Harden does but better(steamrolling through defenses with power to get to the rim) and playmaking.

Curry does everything that Harden does at an elite level but only slightly worse but is infinitely better in leading a more sustainable less predictable offense that is harder to gameplan for in the playoffs. Curry isn't as strong of a penetrator as Harden but more than makes up for it in his skillsets.

 

Only if Kawhi, Lebron, and Curry are all out for the playoffs.