LeBron left the Cavs to join the Heat and won two ships before returning to Cleveland to capitalize on a better situation. What if Harden is just trying to win some ships and come back type LeBron to cash in on the rebuild? We know his game is mostly predicated on skill over athleticism and he will likely age well... If he's still the same bonafide durable superstar we know... Would y'all welcome him back? Harden carried this franchise on his back for 8 years with injury riddled rosters and declining 2nd options who often times couldn't stay healthy.... He never let us miss the offs no matter who suited up and played more games and load managed less than every superstar in the NBA... Some great memories and almost taking out one of the greatest teams of all-time if not for the corrupt Scott Foster and a paper thin hamstring.... We almost had it. He now gets to do seemingly what all the top stars in this era have eventually done... The superstar teamup and I'll only root against him two times a year. The reason the Rockets never won a ship wasn't BECAUSE of Harden... The primary reason the Rockets were even a consistent contender for all these years was because of Harden overachieving year in and year out... He overachieved with rosters no other player in the league would've won a ship with and he came pretty damn close to pulling it off.... LeBron needs superstars or multiple stars to win a ship... KD needs multiple stars to win a ship... You can go down the list... Context matters... If Harden had led the Rockets to even one championship it would've been a more impressive ring than any current player in the NBA... THINK about that. Compare the talent he's played with in Houston to the other stars in the league who've won championships... Look at his 2nd options... Dwight, CP3, and Russ... All three couldn't stay healthy and were often injured... Cp3 going down multiple times a year and when he was needed the most.... Cp3's last playoff series as a Rocket he had the WORST PLAYOFF SERIES OF HIS CAREER.... I could talk about Russ, but we already know how bad he was after covid and the calf strain especially. This is what the NBA has become because when it comes playoff time you're likely going to be facing multiple stars and if you don't have that on your squad, then you're going to be in the position of Harden where he's constantly double teamed and trapped without another player able to consistently make the opposition pay. In the end he wanted to be traded because he wants to win above all at this point in his career and knew like I know that we don't have a roster built to win a ship at all... Yes he could go GOD mode and carry us to the offs and maybe we win a series, but to what END? Harden forcing a trade and giving us compensation in the form of tons of draft capital is better than him just leaving in FA at the end of his contract... And yes his off court antics were definitely a part of that and while it was disappointing to see... I understand why he did it. No superstar in the NBA played more games than Harden during his tenure here and only one team never missed the playoffs in the NBA during his time here... The Houston Rockets... He did more with less than his contemporaries and for that he will have my respect.
LeBron came back at 30 years old, in the middle of his prime. AND, after Cavs won like 4 straight lotteries lmao. In what world is a 34 year old Harden coming back a LeBron move?
Only way this happens is if we draft in the top 4 this year and that dude turns into an all star in the next 2 years. Not happening. People need to let go.
Maybe if Harden grew up in Houston. Only reason LeBron came back is because he's from the area and made it his mission to bring a title back to his people. Harden grew up in la, he loves Houston, but not enough to deal with working for Tillman again. Maybe if Tillman sold the team.
It’s not crazy to think this is his thought process. I mean these guys watch what their peers do, and I could see LeBron being a “role model” of sorts for Harden. Now, it would take a lot of things to align perfectly for this scenario to work out. Most likely won’t happen this way.
Either you didn't read or you don't comprehend the scenario proposed... No their ages aren't exactly identical, but LeBron wasn't exactly washed at that age nor is he at 36... I'm saying if Harden won a couple ships with the Nets and he wanted to return to Houston... While the Rockets are in a somewhat similar position as the Cavs in 2014 with a young budding star or a high pick in a position to acquire more talent... It's not that complicated.
This. He ain't coming back and it wouldn't matter if he did. The rockets won't have the top picks like the Cavs did and Harden will be too old to be a superstar.
How many times are Harden fans gonna create the same thread? https://bbs.clutchfans.net/threads/would-you-accept-harden-back.309876/ https://bbs.clutchfans.net/threads/if-harden-wins-a-ring-and-returns-in-2023-24.309727/ https://bbs.clutchfans.net/threads/...feel-james-harden-will-return-someday.309930/ Go suck his d in Brooklyn.
Perhaps or at that point in his career he may be content to play out the rest of his career here while trying to get another ship.... In this scenario we're in a similar position as Cleveland ie we have some young star talent.
In a few years who knows, but if you were to offer him back tommorow i wouldnt take him back... perhaps I just grow tired of him on the rockets... i wanna watch new look rockets and hopefully teamball.. and its still fun for me to follow harden on the nets and just a reminder houston wasnt happy with harden, tc home crowd was the most pathetic home crowd during the harden era
His Lebron move was leaving to join a better team and win a championship. I don’t think he’s coming back. Lebron never planned to go back. His plan was.... not 5 not 6 not 7 not 8.