Both players led teams to two Finals. Kidd was also an elite defender and is #2 all-time in assists and steals. Folks were wondering if Drexler was as good as Jordan until the 92 Finals. No one is taking Harden over peak Wade. And again, I could have mentioned more players. I just stopped at 25 and almost ignored multilple greats from the old days.
The guy who led his team to 3 straight Finals and beat Bird, Jordan and Magic to win two of them is an easy removal? Ok. We are surely on a Rockets board.
What does Maxey and Thybulle have to do with Porter? If you still labor under the belief that the Harden trade was the reason Porter was traded to Rockets then there is a bridge in Brooklyn I'd love to sell you, highly discounted, gently used.
I’m not debating Harden vs those players because that has nothing to do with this thread. But “got to the Finals” is so stupid. There is NO difference between getting to the Finals and losing to the champion and getting to the conference Finals and losing to the eventual champion. A team cannot control what conference it plays in. I hate that argument - always used against Harden. It is illogical and disingenuous.
It’s not even close, like at all. There isn’t anything that Thomas does better on the court other than pure assists. Thomas played on a stacked Pistons team that defensively bludgeoned opponents to victory. He was the single best player, probably, but heck Dumars won Finals MVP one year.
Drexler only has been top 5 in MVP voting twice and only top ten 4 times. Harden has been top 5 in MVP voting 6 times and top ten 8 times not including this season. His career isn't over yet. Good chance he finishes top 5 this season also so that's 7 seasons of being top 5 in MVP voting. He has a better career than Drexler. Wouldn't be surprised if he gets more mvp vote shares in the next few years also. He's only 31. He arguably could have 3+ near MVP caliber seasons left in him. Drexler never faced a team like the KD GSWs on his route to the finals. Context matters. The 2014-2019 Rockets would be in the finals every year during the era of the Eastern Conference Kidd excelled in. It was literally one of the worst eras of Eastern Conference basketball with teams like the AI Sixers and Kidd Nets being the top dogs. Those teams would barely make it in the playoffs in the Western Conference of the past decade.
Think about this....If the Cavs didn't move his locker, KPJ might not be here. Thank you Cleveland Cavs for moving his locker.
We have to be careful with out expectations for this kid. It would have been too much to expect harden to turn into harden too. Kid played great with subpar talent against a great team. Conley is a great defender and then they have Gilbert erasing stuff so it were difficult conditions
KPj has some Harden in him, but there's definitely some Michael Ray Richardson too. Plus the crazy athleticism. Calm, smooth, feel for the game...lets it come to him. And only 20. Special player.
2 games, I'm sold. This kid has it... when he is in the floor, there is that sense of excitement. great pick and roll passer, Wood is gonna feast!!
He has been used all wrong in Cavsland....under utilized. That's been obvious since he has been there, imo. They wasted too much time with Collin Sexton
I'm with Kenny and Porter on this topic. Call the guy and give him a little heads up. Takes 5 minutes.
Why? Especially Clyde. He has literally no argument besides out of context points like "he won rings".
Think about this....the reason they moved his locker was because of the players they received in the Harden deal. If stone doesn’t route guys to Cleveland, the locker issue may not have come about.
