Honestly, it was the type of deal where I was just shocked and was so invested in our young guys, but also quit frankly not familiar with Harden that I didn't like it at first. But then it sank in and it was like wow, can't believe we got that type of guy for so little. Right before the season no less. Just crazy.
It was a Saturday. I was on my way to a Halloween Party I was in a Limo. I remember when I saw that tweet on my Blackberry my heart completely stopped. I told my Girlfriend which is my wife now and we got drunk drunk that night. I knew that trade was going to change the Franchise. Happy Harden day!!
At the time, I was a general fan of Harden's game. He was one of my favorite non-Rockets players to watch because I always loved his intelligence on the court. So, I thought, cool, one of my favorite non-Rockets players now IS A ROCKET. I had no idea he would be anywhere near this good. Also, at the time, before the trade, I had pulled back a bit on my Rockets fandom. That time between the Yao/Tmac & Harden eras. So my interest in the team started to ramp up again.
Loved it at the time. And that was before I even knew how good Harden actually was. Perfect move for a franchise that really needed it. One of the best trades in modern NBA history.
Great feeling, never dreamed he would be a generational talent. Also didn't think it would be that hard to win a championship that would cap off his career.
I thought it was a great trade and was very happy. I had no idea at that time we were getting a superstar though.
Really excited and as most, had no idea he would become one of the best offensive players of all time. Really hope he can somehow win a ring here in houston to put a bow on a incredible career.
Harden was already 1 of my favorite players...I liked watching him in college, but he truly became 1 of my favorite players during his series vs the Mavs in the 2011 WCF after that, I thought he could be really good if just given more of an opportunity so I was ecstatic when the trade happened tbh, the numbers he put up his 1st season here were what I thought his peak could be...I thought at his absolute best, he could be a like a 25, 5, and 6 guy...I thought he was gonna average like 20 ppg his 1st year here I never even thought about him being an MVP or a 30 ppg scorer...it never even crossed my mind as being possible watching him dominate his 1st 2 games against the Pistons and the Hawks had my jaw on the floor...we fleeced OKC
Very vividly. I was getting ready for a costume party and when the alert came through I ditched my costume and put on my ASU #13 jersey. It's the only basketball jersey I have bought since T-Mac first joined the Rockets and I got it on the very last day of sophomore year on sale for like $15 just in case I decided to ever wear a basketball jersey ever again. The whole night I just spent hours talking with my friends about how great Harden was going to be in Houston.
