Harden's mother: "He is doing the best for his career...He is asking for a chance to get a ring”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/shaney...-westbrooks-outside-shooting/?sh=4a45dc0573a3

 

whats crazy about not supporting so there is no reason to chill my boy ‍♂️

 

That's not what @Nook said. He said that Tilman was the one who wanted Westbrook and Harden agreed with the move.

So who was the pusher?

 

It depends on who you believe? @foggy94 @Deuce

Tilman said that he was the one that pushed to complete the Westbrook trade.

Morey said that Harden supported the Westbrook trade but was okay if the deal wasn't completed.

Now that Morey and MDA are gone and Harden is holding out........ we are seeing writers that rely on intel from the Rockets organization writing that the opposite it true.... now according to "sources" that rely on the Rockets organization for stories, Morey got out because he knew Harden was wanting out.... then it turned into Tilman having almost no say over what the Rockets do and do not do, and now Harden is the one that pushed Paul out, and all the stories about Tilman wanting to move Paul and being upset over his contract are false.

People can believe what they want to believe, but I will just say consider who these stories benefit and where these stories came from........

 

Or what about @HP3 spamming this board and people about they’re info being wrong .

do we have the biggest load of suckers here or what? Honestly it doesn’t surprise me, if you look at hardens behavior it fits in

 

That speaks to Tilman refusing to pay the tax and making cost cutting moves. Nook has already stated Harden was fine with CP.

 

‘There is no timetable’: What does James Harden really want?
By Kelly Iko
The question has become more profound since the Rockets’ 2019 second-round loss to Golden State, but as the 2020-21 season gets closer and the ZOOM press conferences get stranger, it’s a question that needs answering — quickly.

What does James Harden really want?

The Rockets, mainly the front office and management, have been trying their hardest to crack the case. Internally, it was known that the Orlando bubble was a difficult and trying time for the team and that psychologically, a break was needed.

Since then, however, it’s appeared as if the franchise is moving three times faster than normal. Immediately after the playoff ouster, former head coach Mike D’Antoni recused himself from his position — making up his mind before stepping foot on the team plane — and former general manager Daryl Morey followed suit shortly after.

What followed was a coaching search, a process that took nearly two months as the Rockets searched for the best possible candidate. With D’Antoni and Morey gone, Houston was suddenly left with a roster that had been built for one specific objective and under the guidance of an old regime. Uncertainty and doubt started to seep through the cracks.

It was also during this time, sources say, that Harden approached management/ownership and gave them his mandate: Either build a championship team around him or get him to a situation where he could achieve that.

So as new head coach Stephen Silas spoke to the media on Monday, the second day of team practices, without his franchise player in the building, his demeanor indicated that the uncertainty and doubt that had existed at the beginning of the offseason had already resurfaced — or perhaps never left at all.

“There is no timetable as far as I know, and it is a setback,” Silas said. “You want your best player to be here and there’s a short window.”

Harden’s recent desires to be traded to Brooklyn may be an isolated incident, but this isn’t the first time he’s approached the team with such intent, sources say. When it became clear after losing to the Spurs in 2017 that another playmaker was sorely needed, the Rockets pulled off a blockbuster sign-and-trade deal for Chris Paul. After the 2019 playoff collapse and fallout with Chris Paul, sources say Harden told the front office the same thing: commit to building a championship team or trade me. That summer, Russell Westbrook was brought in for Paul — and the rest is history.

So, what does James Harden really want?

The Rockets have known for years how important Harden’s legacy is to him and how badly he wants to win a championship. Westbrook’s arrival came off the backs of Harden’s belief that Paul wasn’t a suitable partner to lead the Rockets to a title, sources say. Prior to Houston’s flurry of offseason moves, Harden had told Houston that he didn’t see a realistic path to a title and would prefer to join Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn, sources say.

What made Monday’s availability so awkward and unfortunate was that for a franchise that has long been championed for their ability to be ahead of the curve, there simply aren’t any answers right now to Harden’s absence.

“I don’t know the answer to that question,” Silas said on whether the Rockets should assume Harden won’t be available for Houston’s regular-season opener against the Thunder on December 23. “I’m taking it day by day. We operate how we operate, so I don’t know.”

“I wouldn’t say it’s unprecedented, there are guys that have done this before. I’ve been in situations where we had a holdout and you handle each situation on its own merit. As far as any sort of punishment, we haven’t crossed that bridge yet. Trying to work this out piece by piece.”

Silas might be taking the situation on a day-to-day basis, but what about Harden’s teammates? Just look at P.J. Tucker, perhaps the most brutally honest member of the organization (former Rocket Austin Rivers a close second) and a close friend of Harden. Tucker wanted absolutely nothing to do with addressing the issue and appeared angry at the mere notion of it. “I’m here to speak about P.J. Tucker,” he said.

Frankly, Harden isn’t helping his cause at the moment — he’s actually hurting it. Harden is a smart and savvy veteran player, businessman, and person, but he’s going about this the wrong way. The Rockets have long maintained their stance of improving the roster, bringing Harden to camp, and seeing how the season plays out, hoping that he would change his mind. Teams like Brooklyn, Philadelphia, and even Golden State have sniffed around, but the Rockets don’t have to play nice with them.

This is where we get into the tricky world of leverage and motive. Harden’s biggest hurdle with his desires to play elsewhere and the pressure he’s seemingly putting on Houston by not showing up is that the Rockets don’t have to ameliorate him. We’ve seen this in the NBA before — Kawhi Leonard in San Antonio, Anthony Davis in New Orleans, Jimmy Butler in Philadelphia, Paul George in Indiana. The difference between Harden and those other situations is that all four had time on their side. Their contracts were winding down, putting the onus on their respective organizations to move quickly or face losing star talent for nothing. At that point, it’s also a game of conflicting egos — player empowerment vs. the suits.

The Rockets are in no such predicament. They have Harden under contract for two more years, enough time to either attempt to salvage their relationship (although optics look bad) or canvass the league landscape for the best possible deal. Houston doesn’t have to take 50 cents on the dollar right now for a top 5 player and perennial MVP candidate just because he’s unhappy. That’s bad business. For example, Brooklyn’s best offer — Caris Levert, Spencer Dinwiddie, etc. — might look more tantalizing 18 months from now when the clock is ticking loudly but right now, it doesn’t.

Our Sam Amick had this in yesterday’s explanation of the no-show:

“As for the prospects of him being traded, sources say the Rockets’ demands remain unchanged even after these past few days: An All-Star/All-NBA level player in return, as well as a treasure trove of other assets (young prospects, first-round draft picks, etc.). But as of Monday afternoon, sources say, the trade market wasn’t responding to these demands in the kind of way that would inspire a move.”

So what does James Harden really want?

The drama in Houston as the calendar approaches 2021 is a stark contrast to Harden’s comments following their Game 5 loss to the Lakers back in September. Harden appeared as a humble, honest individual that understood the morality of his NBA career and was willing to do whatever it took to win a championship. Harden was a D’Antoni fan and likely wanted him to stay, but no matter the coach or the system, the biggest hope for change would have to come from within. Harden looked almost apologetic that day as if all of Houston’s past failures were squarely on his shoulders. Between that day and now, it’s obvious that Harden doesn’t feel the same way.

“I have no clarity about the message,” Silas said. “I take it at face value that he’s not here. What the reason is in him. He’s the one who can explain why or why not he’s not here. For me to make inferences and think about the possibilities is not real to me. What’s real is he’s not here and he has a reason but that’s on him to tell what it is.”

The Rockets have a preseason game in 72 hours but there’s no way the team is ready for that game — physically or mentally.

“As I said yesterday, we’re working as if this is the 6th-23rd so there is some time, but it’s a setback,” Silas said.

In his daily updates, Coach Silas has given the impression that there are a lot of positives done on the court but there is still a great deal of work to do. With improvements to the squad depth, the introduction of more “tools in the toolbox,” and overall reshaping the team, Silas has the tough task of not only guiding the organization through a period of transition from the past regime but also has to prepare for another bloodbath of a season filled with vast-improved rival contenders.

It’s incredibly hard to do that without your best player there, and there have been no updates from Harden or his inner circle as to where his head is at. Harden’s mother/manager Monja Willis gave a lengthy response to a random Instagram comment on Monday, but aside from an emoji from Harden, it’s been quiet on that front.

Over the years, Harden has been able to get his message across privately and effectively. When it came down to either him or Dwight Howard, it was Howard who was shown the door. The same can be said for Paul and most recently, Westbrook. Harden is the only person that knows what he truly wants, and regardless if it’s a future with the Rockets, Nets, or elsewhere, it would behoove all parties to have some clarity on the situation sooner rather than later.

 

They spammed the boards with actual quotes from the GM and the owner...... I am not sure what more you want. They both confirmed different parts of the story months apart.

Now we suddenly have stories from people that rely on the Rockets organization for information.... that Daryl Morey didn't want out because of TF, that Westbrook wasn't TF's idea and that Harden is the one that pushed the WB trade and not TF ........... I really wonder who could possibly be leaking this crap to the media?

Also, if Morey left because Harden demanded a trade, then the full page comments of Morey thanking Harden individually and that he changed his career really doesn't make sense.

 

truth be told I think the facts are somwhere in the middle. Harden said in an interview he pushed for it, but TF also with his hate for the CP3 contract enabled it. The one smart voice in the room Morey cant be against his star player and owner.

 

Plot twist , harden actually just got married and is on a honeymoon .

 

I want to make it clear, there is no question that James Harden wanted Westbrook over Paul. Morey substantiated that point as well. However what seems to be being pushed now is that Harden decided that Paul had to be dealt and he forced the Rockets to deal Paul for Westbrook..... that isn't what happened at all.

Harden was attempting to add to Chris Paul. He tried to get Jimmy Butler to join Paul and him..... then after the George trade, Westbrook decided he wanted out and Harden let Morey know and asked about adding Westbrook to Paul and Harden. Morey said he told Harden that wasn't possible. Harden said that he would still support a trade of Paul for Westbrook. Morey later told Harden that he did not think that the Rockets would trade for Westbrook and Harden was fine with it. Morey went as far as to tell Paul he did not think he would be traded...... Tilman then decided he wanted the deal done.

I am not saying that Harden is perfect, but blaming him for the roster moves the Rockets have made is a real stretch and the level of involvement that TF has decided to push concerning Harden's involvement in roster decisions is being over hyped. If Harden had so much say, the Rockets would have always used the MLE, would have paid the luxury tax, Ariza would have been resigned and Tucker would have a contract extension.

These types of divisive articles have only come out since TF has bought the Rockets, and they all come from the same small group of reporters that rely on the Rockets for stories.... TF is too concerned with trying to not be blamed for his screw ups, and not concerned enough about winning basketball games. Les Alexander was cheap, he did not always do the right things, but he didn't foster chaos and he stopped constantly trying to vilify his former or disgruntled players and employees.

 

Woj: Harden has now included the 76ers as his other preferred destination. Now it’s making sense. I bet he wanted to go to the 76ers all along and was using the Nets as leverage. Morey the puppet master

 

damn.. he fell in love with a stripper

 

The last time the Rockets traded an all time great player to the Sixers it didn't turn out all that great for the Rockets.

 

Yep . Morey with the big F you to cheap boy Tillman on his way out.

 

So you have some quotes from a guy that doesn't like being interviewed, especially if the interviewer is asks him a question that he feels is confrontational and then an opinion about him...

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/...hot-selection-theres-no-need-to-take-long-2s/

So stop. He knos. If you ask him dumb questions though he'll give you stupid answers.

Asking a player "What's your process when you're shooting the ball?" is one of those dumb questions, he's right, you shoot the ball. Yall think these dudes think more than they do, when they don't. They practice to eliminate as much thinking as possible so they can react and play faster.

 

didn’t that trade work out pretty well ? I throughs we got the number 1 overall pick (Sampson that year ) and then tanked next year to get Hakeem .

then they were like ... uh no doing that .. draft lottery

 

well that's certainly inconvenient

 

Well, I guess I'm not coming at you with all that, but more the stat group that whenever you talk about intangibles comes at me like I'm wrong.

That players might not be thinking about different %s when playing defense or this or that. That someone might be taking a certain shot in a game to get better at it or doing a certain thing in a game because the team is fine with it as a learning experience. With Russ, every year he works on his shot so every year he wants to see if its better. We have numerous quotes over the years in the offseason with Russ about how he was working on his shot and this time he thinks he's going to be a better shooter. Maybe it'll be like Jason Kidd and will come late in his career or maybe it just won't ever be there.

I think it's only a stat geek thing is you ignore all of the intangibles and just rely solely on numbers. As Durant said, no one wants to look at graphs when talking about basketball. I get it, the Rockets were a big part of the analytics movement but some people just rely way too heavily on it.