Duh? He watched the GM, assistant GM and entire coaching staff leave. He saw the other star player on the team force his way out. His best friend on the team (Tucker) wanted out too. Anyone with a brain would want out. He told the Rockets he wanted out. The team leaked to the media that they were in no hurry to trade him, were going to try to change his mind and likely wouldn’t trade him this year.... the Rockets knew any rational star at that point would do what it took to get traded, so they leaked they were willing to let it get uncomfortable.... Harden called their bluff and when he finally said “we aren’t good enough” they couldn’t handle uncomfortable and traded him. The only real mistake Harden made was not having an agent. Everyone complaining about Harden signing the extension, he signed that before 90% of the people he cared about in the organization left. Further the Rockets wouldn’t have gotten nearly as much for him without that extension. Harden is over 30 and doesn’t have much time left to win. He wanted to win in Houston but everyone knew the Rockets were not contenders. People can be butt hurt all they want but they aren’t thinking rationally or objectively. No one is butt hurt with JJ Watt asking the Texans to deal him so he can win. Deshaun Watson is young, literally just signed an extension and wants out too. His case is weaker than Watts or Harden, he is still young.... yet Watson sees the writing on the wall, he knows he won’t win with the Texans. We saw the same thing with KG and Minnesota and others. The stars in the universe just didn’t align right with the Rockets and Harden in 2020-2021.
F*ck him. He was never an alpha. He’s no longer a Rocket so I’m over his under achieving ass. All the ****ed up **** going on right now in H town sports got me hating on mfers right now.
Lose in the playoffs? That is the reason he wanted to be traded. He wanted to win a title in Houston and at 31-32 years old with the players on the roster and with what we know of ownership, that wasn’t going to happen.
I understand JJ Watt's case and honestly Watson's case too because the Texans are incompetent and behind societal cultural business trends... Harden's case is still weak to me in terms of how and why he wanted out. Lol Watson is fighting for a little bit of the control Harden had.
I, personally, will never view Harden in the same light as i did before. And i will never ever root for him again. The way he forced his way out is just not something i will ever accept. However, my hate watching has developed into just wishing the Nets, instead of Harden to fail. Simply because we own their picks for the next 7 years. i still think Harden has some major flaws, most likely character flaws, which has always made him to be the odd one out. No real star in their prime wanted to team up with Harden, ever. I still think he is a fantastic basketball player, but I don’t think he has „it“. „it“ being that something something that makes players like Michael Jordan the GOAT.
#1 Someone can root for Harden to win the title this year and it has zero impact on the Rockets. Absolutely none. #2 Harden didn’t quit mid season and demand a trade. He demanded a trade before the season ever even started. What did the organization do? Release stories about likely not trading him this season, and how they would try to change his mind. The Rockets wanted it to get ugly so they wouldn’t be the bad guys. The GM even said they were willing to let it get ugly. Harden tried to force their hand before the season and it didn’t work. Then early in the season came the report that the Rockets likely wouldn’t trade him this season. Harden called all their bluffs and said “we aren’t good enough” and guess what, they weren’t willing to let it get uncomfortable and he was traded 18 hours later. #3 We don’t know if Watt would hold out or play not to get hurt, because they honored his request. Also there is no guarantee the Texans were ready to move on from him and they didn’t have to release him. They could have likely dealt him and didn’t. #4 Watson is doing the same thing but isn’t on a short timeline like Harden or Watt. Still, few outside of Houston are vilifying Watt or Watson because they just want to win.
GARM: It's not "what have you done for me"... more like "what have you done for me lately". But people here gotta vent for the ugly loss of a season. James isn't a saint on this one, so the dumpster fire gonna burn till the (lotto) balls drop.
Hypocrites all around. Hate on harden cause he quit on the team, but hey Watt gets a pass b/c he's da "houston legend". End result: both men gave up on the franchise. Texans defense leader looked at team overall sht defense and was like nope I'm out, but keep giving him a pass. @JayGoogle with the mental gymnastics to defend watt who literally gave up on the team after our defense stank Cap space? harden help that also
Is that really an apology , seems like he is shouldering the blame onto others to blame or justify his behavior.
Deshaun watson has never even made an all-pro team, he has accomplished nothing in the nfl yet pretty much. he is a glorified matt stafford/dak prescott at this point. Watt/Altuve/Harden were the guys of their respective franchises in houston
deshaun watson signed his contract and wants out a year later, why is he not recieving heat. Is it because james harden is just an easy target and deshaun watson isnt
Did you see the Texans defense last year? They quit on the Team plenty of times last year! Lol When a guy, any guy comes to you and asks to be cut, he has waved the white flag. He knows Easterby & Cal are idiots. If JJ was in Tampa Bay Does he ask to be cut? Of course not. He did it because he’s given up on the Texans
I would have actually been content with us trading him to some other team that didn't have a shot to win even if it meant getting a lesser return. Yes that's dumb but I don't care. We supported the dude and stood up for him, then he decides to up and leave. All of a sudden the schedule is hectic and they have not had practice time to gel??? Where the hell was that attitude when he was here.
We own their draft picks for like the next 7 years. How can it have 0 impact on the Rockets? We own their pick this season even, if all three get hurt and the Nets don't win any more games it benefits the Rockets. Plain and simple. The more they lose the better our picks. That includes this season too. So saying it has '0' impact is just false. To counter all this Harden also said at the start of the season that this team could be the 3 seed... It's already been reported that the Texans had trades for him and declined them in order to do him this favor. He's been a trade rumor all year and has hinted all season that he didn't know how much longer he'd be a Texan I think the writing on the wall was that he knew it was time to move on and the Texans were mutual in that thinking. I said Watson situation is similar to Harden's, much more. Watt's simply isn't because the team wanted to move on from Watt which changes everything. If the Rockets wanted to move on from Harden they trade him during the draft or before the season or ASAP.
I'm only talking about their situations when it comes to wanting out and contracts. Not their impact. Watt's situation is simply different since the team wanted to move on from him whereas Harden's team wanted to keep him here, even extend him.
Watt for his age and wear and tear had a pretty good year though lol. There's a reason he'll be coveted by contenders on a cheaper contract and a desire to win. He can't do much if his secondary can't cover a curl, slant, or go route...just how it works in his game. He can have a dominant game and his team can still be blown out...different sports. He still had a solid year, a great year again considering his age. Again, you are ignoring that the Texans didn't want him on the team next year lol. that's a big factor that keeps getting ignored. that changes how the Texans go about it.
Harden had no right to force his way out since he was the one who wanted Westbrook in a bad deal and loss for the Rockets!! And whoever thinks that was an actual apology is stupid as hell.