Run it back. Appreciate James Harden as much as you can. He is a generational talent that we can't assume we will be fortunate to get on a blow it up rebuild.
3-D Rim running big man = Aaron Gordon (EGo trade package) Stretch 5 = Aron Baynes/Meyers Leonard (MLE)
the point is if it can be done with non shooting pointguard then it can be done with a non shooting player at any one position.... make it work with westi... he's a great great player...hes a UNIQUE PLAYER....dont consider him trash just because he was injured or couldnt make it work in year 1 or coudnt make it work with a nonflexible non imaginative coach... make it work now....
The number two pick is out there right now, and Westbrook is still good to keep pace with the Thunder during the regular season.
dude We aren’t trading Harden to the ****ing Warriors. Unless that pick is coming with Klay and Draymond or Steph the Warriors can wait until 2022 FREE AGENCY to add Harden. I’d take 2 years of Harden over any player in this draft for 7.
He is unique. He is not great. If winning in the playoffs is your plan, yes he is trash. You can not a pay a player that much money and that player not be a top 20 guy. You just can’t build a proper team with that much of your cap space devoted to a non winning player. Blaming his terrible play because it was year 1 or had a “non flexible, unimaginative” coach is just nonsense. Durant knew that making it work with Westbrook was a fools errand. Impossible. And he actually had him when he was pretty productive. Key difference between Rondo and Westbrook. Rondo is a basketball player who plays basketball with his brain and actual skills. Westbrook is and always has been an athlete that plays basketball with his heart and effort. Rondo can learn, Westbrook will continue to fade as his body declines.
I prefer moving on from Harden and WB, but that doesn't mean we should be stupid about it. It could be possibly we do it a step process, trade WB/EG for something tolerable while drumming up enthusiasm for a Harden trade over the season. For me, I just don't see Harden being the type of person to win it all without the stars aligning perfectly. Harden maybe a generational talent, but that doesn't necessarily make him the lead player on championship team.
I love me some Harden, but are you guys hoping that what hasn't been done in years with him (and others) on the team can now be done in maybe 1 or 2 years with Westbrook playing much better (possible), everyone a year older on a team already the oldest, a new coach, probably a new system, a new GM, and a cheap owner that didn't want to spend even when they had a chance to win? Keep in mind that in the next year or two Harden will be on the decline, Westbrook, as well, if he already isn't, and there's always the chance of injury. I'd rather pick up some picks and young talent for the future, hope Fertitta is forced to sell, and an owner with money willing to spend to win, who doesn't meddle takes over. lol.
Bandwagon fans are just so half-assed here, it's ridiculous. Harden is a one-of-a-kind player. He's better than Giannis. More importantly, he wants to freaking stay in Houston. You don't trade guys like that unless he asks for it. You want to blow it up? Go watch Giannis for another couple of years and see how well that's going to work out for the franchise. It's ridiculously difficult to draft right. There's franchises that's been tanking for decades that just can't do anything with their picks. It takes a special front office to build up talent properly, you don't just pick someone in the top-10 and it just magically works out.
If we are NOT winning a championship, then move him now while we can get something good for him to accelerate the rebuild, I don't care about winning in the regular season - it is all about chasing that ring... DD
I want one more year. Give Stone a chance to play with the roster this offseason and a new coach a chance to implement some changes to the offense that incorporates more movement. They need to get some size, and ideally could use some actual above average shooters. This season was frustrating, because when Westbrook peaked, the rest of the team was pretty much sucking (mainly Harden). And when they came back from the bubble and Harden and co. were killing it, Westbrook was banged up and then played like garbage in the playoffs. If you added some size and you got the A game versions of Harden and Westbrook in the playoffs, could this team be a legit contender? My head tells me "no," but my gut still thinks there's a chance. Plus, the fact still remains that even as constructed, there's at least an outside chance they could make a Finals run. If you get rid of Harden and rebuild, that chance goes to zero. And it might be at zero for a decade plus. I'm not ready for that yet. I'd rather watch one more season of peak Harden and 50+ wins with a second round exit than have to watch a 20-win team next year.
Ideal scenario is somewhere in between: find some sucker willing to take on Westbrook for expirings, picks, and/or filler... But with Morey gone, our chances of pulling that off probably aren't great.
If not for Foster OR a Paul injury, Harden would have a 2018 title right now. He just averaged 30, 8, and 6 on 64% TS%. Not to mention incredible offensive AND defensive win share rates, BPM, RPM, PER... But all the short sighted knee jerkers remember is that we lost, and the best player deserves all the blame and none of the credit. He had a liability back from injury as his second option and a 6'5" center. I fully believe there is no one in NBA history who you could have replaced Harden with on this year's roster that takes this team any further than Harden did. Maybe someone get us an extra win or two, and some would ostensibly be "trying harder". That's about it. He was also the best player among six all stars (and three MVPs) in our series against GS last year, and was very good in most of the previous three playoffs, minus the inexplicable game six against SA in 2017. This "he's a regular season player" nonsense is completely unsubstantiated fluff that I expect to see from casuals, haters, and ESPN talking heads, but not from Rockets "fans" who are paying any attention whatsoever. Championships are team accomplishments, not individual ones, and Harden just has not had the team he needs in Houston. But yes, Westbrick needs to go.
If I have to keep both to have one ( Harden & WB) then I choose none. Trade them both. Then you’d have contenders willingly to trade draft picks for the role players too. Hire Silas and let’s get on with the rebuild. Get what you can and move on.
Keep Harden as long as you can because he is the only draw Rockets fans will have for a long time to come. Owners don't retire.
