really interesting interview from Herro. small tl;dr (not complete): - is able to pick up on moves really, really quick. a coach (iirc) once said, herro needs 3 reps on a new move to be able to do it at nba speed - really humble kid - not afraid of big moments - seems to be really chill and focused on his nba career
Simmons is the correct choice. Herro is the emotional, he just had a great playoffs in his rookie season, choice.
RJ Hampton? Lol Yeah him and Murray plus picks maybe. Don't get me wrong I think he has potential, but potential doesn't mean a got damn thing compared to Harden's portfolio
I'm thinking Celtics may be the best option. I'd do Harden for Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown. Brown is only 24, Smart is 26 and Wood is 25. You'd have your "Big 3" for the next decade but in the short term you have Wall and Cousins around them to be competitive. While I'm at it I'd trade PJ Tucker and picks for THT.
Rockets won’t be getting another 35-8-8 guy for another few decades so need to temper you’re expectations for a return
I've admittedly been Anti-Simmons (both Bill and Ben) for a while now but I've warmed up to the idea because I stopped thinking inside the box. Getting Simmons and 2-3 1sts didn't seem appealing to me at first because you're basically replacing one of the all-time greats (yes, Harden's status is an all-time great) and one of the best scorers in the league with a guy that doesn't score much in a league where scoring matters. Then I started to think about the picks...how it could be immediately use to acquire a player that can score (i know, hamster wheel wasn't running) in a 3-team trade for Harden. Like, why wait at all? Why don't we just move those picks to get another player? Then I started canvassing the league for high scoring guards. Klay? I wouldn't use my picks on a guard with so many recent injuries. Beal? I don't think he's going anywhere anytime soon. Booker? Same. Then I thought of Zach Lavine. His standard statline from last year (25/4/4 on 45%/38%/80% shooting splits) definitely showed me how much he's progressed since his Minnesota days. Would I trade 3 1st Rounders for him? In today's NBA, where Jrue Holiday got the Pelicans 3 1sts? I would. Now here's where it starts to looking more interesting: Philly receives: James Harden Chicago receives: 3 1sts rounders via Sixers Houston receives: Ben Simmons Zach Lavine Why would Chicago do this? For starters Lavine's ceiling is probably your 2nd Banana. He's making the most money on their roster and is probably the most seasoned vet outside of my man Otto Porter Jr. Do the Bulls think Lavine can become a legit #1 option? Because Lavine is due for an extension soon. Do they want to fork over huge money to a guy that might be a #2 option at best, when they're still trying to develop Markannen, White, and Patrick Williams? I think Zach's ripe for the picking. If you're going to commit to having Ben Simmons as your franchise player, you're going to need someone like Lavine (multi-dimensional scorer) in the backcourt with you. A play maker like Simmons can help elevate and increase Lavine's scoring production. What would the Rockets do about Gordon and Wall? The obvious answer is to move them as fast as humanly possible but do it without surrendering more assets. At worst, you have the most expensive backup guard combination in the history of the NBA for the next few years. The silver lining is that you now have 3 players 25 or younger that you can build around in Simmons, Lavine and Wood. In one trade you basically got yourself a #1 and #2a to go with your, hopefully, #2b.
At the end of the day, it's not about Simmons or Herro but what other assets we are going to get that will determine which deal is better.
https://hoopshype.com/2020/12/17/james-harden-trade-miami-heat-rumors-potential-packages/ No thank you
So i've been thinking. There's a lot of dispute about whether Herro or Simmons is the better package showcase. I clearly like Simmons+Thybulle over anything that the Heat can offer but what the Rockets need is a realistic trade to pressure Morey into trading everything. I would prefer to see how the Heat play this year and try to get Bam and Herro without needing to get creative in cutting players. Here are the facts. Any trade starts with Andre Iguodala and Kelly Olynk to make the salaries work. They would want to keep Dragic and we have no use for any of the three in a rebuild situation (Iggy wouldn't even play so we would have to deal with him immediately). Obviously Herro is included and Duncan Robinson. Then you add 2025 FRP Unprotected and 2027 FRP unprotected (not bad picks to have, not a chance Harden is still carrying a team by them, same with Butler). Right here if you stop, you're taking 4 players for 1 and the Rockets really only have 2 extra slots (cutting Clemons obviously while taking his salary is an option). That's probably not enough in a trade for a player that none of them have a chance of sniffing. So then you keep looking. The Rockets would most likely want Precious over Kendrick Nunn because of his contract situation and off the court situation. They may even want both. So now you are taking 6 players for 1 and have 2 rosters spots. So you would have to find a third team to take on PJ Tucker for a FRP or a player depending on what you want. You would need to find a team to take Olynk and Iguodala for more assets. You would need to probably cut at least 2 players. This is an overtly difficult trade to make right now dealing with the hard cap and honestly a roster full of players that I'd prefer over anyone the Heat would offer other than Herro, Robinson and Precious. Bam is essentially untradeable due to BYC and Butler wouldn't be part of any deal. Would GSW consider Iguodala for Oubre? That makes the trade a little more interesting but still provides the complication of needing to clear out cap space and roster spots. Essentially trading Harden for Oubre, Herro, Robinson, Precious and 2 FRP. That may be close to a market level deal depending on the possibilities with Olynk. Would Philly consider a pick and PJ for Thybulle? Once again adding some youth but still not erasing the need for roster spots This is a very complicated trade and not something that I can really see happening. The Rockets need to trick Morey into thinking it can in fact happen. The Philly trade is simple due to Simmons being the highest paid player we would add thus not needing to worry about rerouting players and it also allows the team to trade PJ into an exception without the 76ers needing to send out additional salary. @Dubious I just read your article and it basically has this same information but less Rocket centric, interesting that the author shares similar views.
Just spitballing a Miami scenario and a return. Herro Precious Duncan Kelly Iggy + 2 FRPs Send Duncan to another team for 2 FRPs? Send Iggy to another team for a FRP? Send PJ Tucker to another team for a FRP? So Herro, Precious, Kelly and 6 FRP is the total and a ton a salary shed.
I just kind of laid out my thoughts but I would keep Duncan Robinson 100%. He and Herro have great chemistry and I like the idea of being the team with the dead eye shooters if Herro is who we decide to build around. Robinson is due for a big contract but it's a RFA situation so there is flexibility. I'd try to send Iggy to GSW for Oubre. PJ for a pick to 76ers into that exception. I'm still into the 76ers deal if it's there but I'd be fine with either. That's the fear Morey needs to have. That the Heat can offer an acceptable package. The Rockets would essentially have 6 new picks this offseason for the future. Wall/ Herro / Eric / McLeMore Oubre/House/Nwaba Robinson/Tate/Precious Wood/ Cousins That's actually a pretty fun team to watch obviously not a contender but would fit together nicely. Maybe fight for an 8 seed.
The only reason I moved out Duncan is he is a RFA that will command big dollars. There are A LOT of teams waiting to spend that will push his cost even though he is a RFA. Going the Herro route is to have a leaner payroll. I like Duncan, but the cost will be high. The only reason I laid out that Miami scenario is to show an exercise where you flip parts for more FRPs. Miami only gets you 2 of theirs, but you can grab maybe 4 more from other parts. So the totality is more picks when you broaden the scope outside of Miami. So if PICKS is a goal, you can do that with parts.
Bucks not being interested in Harden is funny...more like we’re not interested in what they have to offer since they have nothing so they’re irrelevant when it comes to a Harden trade
62% on just 9.7 shots a game in 35 mpg, and an incredible, franchise cornerstone, type of player u build around statline of 14, 7, and 6 including an incredible 12, 7, and 5 in that 7 game series against the Raptors culminating in him taking just 5 shots in game 7 Another Bron reference for Simmons? It will take a minor miracle just for Simmons to develop a jumper on Westbrook’s level.
