Breakdown: Bickerstaff Was Talking About James Harden

So basically he didn't know who JBB was talking about.

 

CREATORS NEVER FOLLOW

 

I'm very disappointed in Harden once again. IMO the JBB's comments obviously encompassed Harden if they weren't exclusively about him. And the thing is this is the leader, this is your drink-stirrer, the best player on the team. If he ain't gonna respect the game we ain't gonna win jack. It really appeared to me that we had turned a corner in LA and we're back to the band of brothers mentality. I really thought there was commitment, total buy-in by Harden. Alas I was wrong. He fooled me. We need a player like Noah so bad. That one guy that ain't taking crap from anybody, who goes out and lays it all out on the line, gets other guys fired up, and performs game after game with white hot intensity.

 

Word of caution to JB, even though he doesn't read this (And I'm a HUGE JB believer):

Don't bash your guys in the media, even if it's passive-aggressively. It doesn't help team morale and it creates tension.

JVG was terrible at it. Rick Adelman alienated some guys doing it. Shaw in Denver did it and lost his entire team.

Be dissatisfied all you want, but giving an interview without name-dropping is dumb. We all know who you're speaking about.

Pull _____ (insert player here) aside and let him know. That's what we as coaches do. It's a family and the media and fans don't need to hear the personal conversations.

Or, if need be, pull ______(insert player here) from the game to make a nonverbal statement about buying in to a cohesive strategy.

 

The brooklyn coach also does it and created huge problems with their lockeroom and dwill. But not any coach can pull out the franchise player to pass a message. Hes an interim rookie coach afterall.

 

Are Green from GS....

Those guys are the real leaders.. NOT SUPERSTARS.. LEADERS!!!

T_Man

 

When Harden becomes an unrestricted free agent, I don't think he's just going to resign with Houston because he loves it here. I don't even think he loves it here, tbh.

We are in the same boat as the Pelicans. We have to turn it around to keep him here.

We have two years.

 

I don't mean to be negative back to your post but there is a TON of misinformation in this post.

Harden not making players better???... Totally disagree with this. D-Mo in an interview last year said that "Its alot of fun to play with James". D-Mo wouldn't have had the stretch he had last year had Harden not been on the team. Jones... come on. That's the sole reason why BBHollic, and BobbytheGreat think Jones is still in the NBA. Pat Beverley is wide open more than any other PG in the league. Go look up how many of Ariza's points come from assists from Harden... its off the charts.

I'm sure I could dig into the stats deeper to show you but I'm not going to waste the time. Harden has his flaws, and I will say that holding the ball and/or walking it up in late game scenarios are some of them. But its comical to think that the players surrounding Harden aren't better playing alongside him except for maybe Dwight & Lawson, but that's any case where a former star player integrates on another team with a better star player.

Just because Kevin Love & Chris Bosh struggled at first and aren't producing at the same level before playing with Lebron, does that mean that Lebron doesn't make people better? Same instance here even though Harden has his flaws off the court, and some on.

Now lets talk about the "If the Rockets could find a new #1 and make Harden #2"....

You do realize that Harden was the 2nd in MVP voting last year, and there are maybe 3 players in the league better than Harden right???... (well I would anticipate it that you would say no). Harden is still, even in a bad season, playing at a top 10 player level. Hell let's even say he's only top 15.

In that scenario, how are the Rockets going to manage to get one of those other top 14 players to begin with? Let me just save you the effort and say that if there is a player that is better than Harden his team is sure as hell to NEVER trade them.

You aren't getting a player more talented than Harden anytime soon... even if you tanked for Simmons, and were lucky enough to get him he won't be as good as Harden for a long time, and its unlikely he ever will be to begin with.

So let's just stop that conversation right now as it stands. The Rockets aren't going to find a #1 unless they strike gold and land Durant.... even then after the injuries, and the fact that Harden would still be the PG would substantiate that even in that scenario Harden might still be the best player on the team, or the most important.

 

I have given up on this.... people selectively hear what they want to hear.

James Harden has continued to improve every season in the NBA, finishing second in the MVP voting last year.

 

The painful part of arguing this is that neither of us could prove each other wrong. Its fan theory because there is no evidence to suggest that any of these trade theories are proposed, and even if that Boston one has, we don't even know if the pick would land at #1 since the F-ing lottery HASN'T EVEN HAPPENED YET.

Its fan trade theory, and a What if. Its not worth arguing over.

Would it be worthwhile to trade Harden for "A Superstar Trade Rebuilding Package"????

No. Other than The Wolves name me 5 teams that traded an MVP caliber player in his prime WITH LEVERAGE (Harden has none yet) and came out ahead for the first 3 to 5 years?

The Rockets aren't trading Harden, and if they were every team in the league would line up to get him.... including OKC.

 

A substitute head coach called a star player out publically? Bickerstaff wants this job badly, but he is not good at all for this job.

 

Look guys, I'm just as disappointed in Harden as the rest of you, but stop losing your damn minds. Harden is still pretty damn good. He's going to go down as AT LEAST a top 10 Rocket of all time (holds scoring records with the likes of Hakeem and Moses), and will likely be a HOF player when its all said and done.

He's hit a rough patch with the team, as a player, and likely as a person. We all have had moments in our life where we weren't at our best. I'm not making excuses because he has been a major disappointment, got a coach fire, has got mixed up in stardom off the court, etc. etc. Most if not all of the Rockets 2015/16 problems start and finish with James Harden. He has to live with that, but when its all said and done 10 years from now its just going to be ONE PART of James Harden's career, accomplishments, and disappointments.

Let's step back for a second and use some freaking common sense. This too shall pass.

 

This is such terrible logic, as the 76ers and Lakers and teams of the like don't even have a window. You're just hoping on a whim for something better without any substance to support such hope.

It's insane to think the 76ers are a better situation than the Rockets right now. Utterly and completely insane. A testament to the state of the GARM this season.

 

Noah? Doesn't take crap from anyone? He has tolerated the Rose "crap" for years; a player that seldom practiced and did anything he wanted on and off the court. Noah wasn't and isn't the leader of the Bulls. Thibs was the leader of the Bulls, and Butler is the leader of the Bulls now.

Also the Bulls this year are being attacked for lacking the fire and desire to win and play hard all the time.

What changed? It isn't Noah....

 

Great post! People need to take a step back and realize there are SO many problems with this team and while James is part of the problem without him they would be lucky to have 5 wins right now. I have faith the guy will figure his **** out he's 26 and is just coming into his prime. Morey needs to get him the proper coaching, a guy who will demand the best of him like Coach K. Regardless of how Posters on here feel about him the guy is one of the best players in the league.

 

At least need another year experience to start talking about any trade possibility for Harden. If there is anything in change, the rockets need a real coach for him before giving him up. Morey made a big mistake for the renewal of former head coach. Right now Les does not want to pay a salary for another head coach this year. So much for the rockets going to win it all by Morey, sometimes I think Morey is drinking too much although he seems to be very smart.

 

The thought of trading Harden hasn't even crossed nor will it cross Moreys mind.

 

If it was just a rough stretch or a slump, that's OK.

But I'm concerned with how he's playing so bad.

Zero effort on D and no quickness or explosiveness on offense.

He still has a shooting touch and great court vision, but it's disturbing to see a young guy play like this.

 

Is Harden willing to listen? The beef with him is he disrupts the game plan which calls for ball and player movement at the end of games. It happened under McHale--the old sticky ball complaint, it's happening now esp. when he didn't have a good shooting game.

So when he ices his own teammates and frustrated them, how do you build around him?

 

Morey knows how hard to get a star player. I have a list of ten players who were targeted by Morey in last five or six years, no one of them is good as Harden.