Don’t blame Harden. This is Tilman’s fault for creating this terrible environment and not providing resources. He would be stupid to not want out.
Watch the greatest irony occur (CP3 style) where Harden gets traded due to his actions, his team underperformed, and Houston moves forward with a healthy Boogie & Wall, overperforming and going further than Harden's new team. We need that kind of luck if this happens, to make up for the last 25yrs, all the injuries, and all the BS. Not saying it'll happen, but I can dream...
If you can get a package built around a young All-Star caliber player like Simmons or Jaylen Brown, you have to seriously consider pulling that trigger. You also have to consider a deal if it nets you multiple legitimately high lottery picks. Otherwise, you kinda have to hold your ground here. Stories like this are depressing. I want to see James join this roster for one last chance to contend. But at least a demand of "trade me to these teams" is more realistic and more reasonable than "trade me to this one team with zero assets." Maybe this core with a younger, lesser player could still be a legitimate playoff team?
The problem with this is that no team would trade for him if he didn't want to play for them. All they have to do is talk to him personally, and if he says he doesn't want to go there, then they won't send the rockets an offer. So unfortunately Harden does have control over this.
They probably temporarily hand the keys over to Wall and Boogie. He expanded his wish list, that's a move in the right direction.
He dont care what we fans nor any other part of Rockets want, so the Rockets shouldn’t care about what he wants. Id ship his ass Cleveland if they had package
Embiid won’t happen. Where as before we could have got Simmons and plenty of other assets now we will probaly just get Simmons and way less assets. That was the game plan from Morey. No coincidence that now Harden has expanded his list
The one leverage the Rockets do have is the remaining 2 years on his contract. Maybe the new team will risk it because they will call Harden's bluff of sitting out two seasons. Harden wants to build his legacy and if he ain't going to win rings he needs to build it like Malone by amassing all time pt stats and missing out on two seasons as he ages really hurts his chances.
Harden would never re-sign there, and their roster is already barren so they won’t accomplish anything with him there I don’t think they’ll waste their time trying to trade for Harden
Exactly. Especially when he was consulted on every single move and even pushed the major ones to happen. Now he isn't happy with what he has partially wrought and wants to leave.
Yeah this fits with Morey's bullshit about leaving the org to take some time off and heading to Philly soon after. There's a strong possibility that he has been in Harden's ear all this time.
The worst thing Fertitta did was listen to Harden and give him what he wanted. Fertitta allowed Harden the GM to overrule Morey the GM and it destroyed the team. Now Harden the player wants out of the mess he created. Let them watch. They see Harden acting like a child, I doubt many of them have any respect for the way he's handling himself. On top of that, if the Rockets trade Harden, they are probably going into a full on rebuild, it'll be a long time before the opinion of top tier FA's matters at all to the franchise....by then it won't be an issue.
