[ESPN / Watkins] Harden, Howard and Rockets face uncertainty

dwight should leave for his own good. im in the minority when it comes to whatever he has left. he has a lot more than he's shown this season. have no choice but to stick with harden. though i wouldnt mind him traded..only if we get a ton in return..and we keep howard for around 15m per.

i dont think harden will ever be a first option and building around him is just recipe for failure.

 

So based on what you're saying you would rather keep Howard at $15 million per season along with whatever haul we get for Harden than to keep Harden at $16 million per season with whatever players we can bring in?


I don't know how you can hitch your wagon to a player that's clearly on the decline at both ends of the floor.

 

This is also laughable:

Portland? Why would Lillard want to play with him?

Charlotte? They have enough trouble scoring so why would Jordan want a mentally fragile player on the decline?

Milwaukee? I'd love to see a front court duo of Howard and Monroe. I mean it' s not as if Monroe has ever been successfully paired with an offensively-challenged front court mate that can't hit free throws.

Orlando? Only place that'd be crazy enough to sign him...probably because they feel bad for him.

 

i've heard from a fairly reliable source (former player) that the relationship has been this way for awhile. he also puts most of the blame at howard, pretty much echoing what Nero said. his teammates don't believe he is fully committed and don't think he does enough to really elevate his game. essentially, he's not professional enough.

look, the track record is there - orlando, LA and now Houston. for all of harden's warts - and there are plenty - it seems pretty obvious that the tinder for this firestorm is dwight.

 

Agreed, good point. Watkins take on Harden's behavior to me is mostly smoke and mirrors. It's not that bad. On the other hand, Harden's complaints about Howard seem to echo those of Kobe's. Howard says he is a competitor, that he cares, and wants to win, but its hard to take him seriously when he is goofing off literally in the middle of the game. I mean, maybe he is, maybe that's his personality. But that doesn't make it any easier, because most superstars get to be superstars by being narcissists who throw hissy fits when they lose. Guys like that can't handle Howard's jovial nature. It's really hard to lead a team when you're that fun loving. Harden's sulking is preferable to Howard's goofing off. You can teach Harden to channel his immature reaction, Howard not so much.

 

this goes back to why JB plays him so much....JB mentioned months ago that he felt JEt improved on court flow/chemistry...basically he was implying he needed JET out there to try and parent james and howard....obviously it wasn't worked like expected, which is probably why JET has said some things out of frustration this year..but if you're the coach, and know that those two guys clearly need a mediator, then how do you not keep putting JET out there? Was Lawson going to parent them? Thornton? Goudelock?

 

It seems Howard and Smith were AAU teammates!

 

he answered in the duplicate thread

 

Big thing that stood out to me was:

 

Well said, but Harden doesn't like to defend. Having a high offensive load is no excuse for poor defensive effort. He is no Kobe, let alone MJ. We need an alpha
leader and a solid head coach, with authority and a strong supporting staff.

 

this had to come out before game 5? thanks BSPN

 

bingo

 

Play harder, follow harder - no stalking though

 

As I keep saying Mauri has enabled and allowed Harden to have this organization by the balls from top to bottom and unfortunately if that doesn't change soon, Rockets can forget about a ring

Harden can do whatever the F he wants knowing full well he will not have any repercussions and may in fact be encouraged by Murray

 

Howard is about to drop a 30-20 on the stat sheet

 

During the second-half of the season he avoids the fried foods at the strip club buffet.

 

The encouraging thing to me is that Harden seems to care so much about winning. From the outside looking in this season, it has appeared at times that he is just disinterested.

 

Ring? Have you looked at the roster next year, and with no draft pick? This team will threaten for the #1 pick next year..

 

Or everything could be solved by replacing Howard with someone who's going to be competitively checked in...

Remember how well we played last year without him. Obviously we can't just get anyone, still need talent, but it seems like this move would be a huge positive for the team.