Since we have Harden under contract for a few more years, he can't leave as a FA like all of your examples. So if he joins another team, it's because of a trade.
Ok, Leonard has Lowry and Ibaka. Like I said if hes not good enough to win it here when he has had ample opportunities. Its not like he hasnt had the chance. How is he going to do it somewhere else? You can make excuses and dispute the talent level of his teammates all you want but great players make the players around them better. Im a Rockets fan first. Over any player. If and when Harden is gone, hes gone im not worried about him. Hes not a Rocket anymore. Whether he ask for a trade or retired a Rocket. He wouldnt be the first player to coattail other(better) players for championships. Its just counter productive as a fan base to even pose these irrational hypothetical scenario when we are nowhere near those crossroads yet.
I respect James to for giving his all to the Rockets. But why do we have to mentally prepare for him to go before hes even gone??? This why that same media says we dont care about Championships. You all are really ok with second best.
I want the Rockets to win. I also want James Harden to win. I like James. I respect his talents. I understand how valuable and unique he is. All of that said, I voted for the second option because nobody wins on the first. In closing, I want James to retire a Rocket.
I would only vote for the “stay in Houston and win a ring, or die trying” option if he ever decided that he wanted out, I wouldn’t blame him at all and would definitely support him on his next team (unless it’s GS, my brain can’t even process rooting for someone GS affiliated) this organization will be nothing without Harden, and it would be right back to irrelevancy Who can forget that great times we had before Harden picking up undersized PFs in the draft and winning 1 playoff series since 1997? Truly memorable times...
I voted for the former reluctantly because I don't want Harden to win a NBA championship with any other team than the Houston Rockets. The poll is stupid.
Would I rather Harden and the Rockets are ringless for the foreseeable future, or Harden wins a ring with another team and the Rockets maybe win a ring without him in the coming years. Seems like an easy answer to me.
I'm just answering a question in a summer thread. Not sure why the first point makes your second point
Kawhi is in the NBA Finals. You're also forgetting the Raptors 2nd best player in Pascal Siakam. "It's just counter productive as a fan base to even.." Dude, you're exactly as we said. A fan base. A fan forum. Whatever we discuss will never have an impact on the Rockets. Harden has had 34yo CP3 and Dwight f*cking Howard for Hardens prime. We've gotten closer to beating the KD Warriors than any other team has, and that team is arguably the greatest team of all time. Your "There is no "we tried"" mentality is garbage considering NOBODY has beaten them. We're not mentally preparing James Harden for anything, he doesn't even know we exist. Hop off that mindset.
Cleveland had no one after LeBron. OKC at least had Westbrook with an incoming PG13, and SA at least has Derozan and LMA to stay afloat. So it's not a good comparison.
Not a very good question. I'd be happy to see him win a ring elsewhere, but I would rather he tries to do it here. I think people don't appreciate that he would rather win 1 here than create a super team elsewhere. Top 10 players have left their team for far less. Kawhi forced a trade away from the Spurs and in his first season, his team could go 17-5 while he rested for 22 games. Kevin Durant left a team that was up 3-1 on the Warriors. Lebron left Wade and Bosh and they had won titles with him, then he did the same to Love and Irving. Can't wait to see the Rockets win it all with this guy.
First I wasnt referring to James Harden I was implying that this question was made up to propose a "what if" that nobody here wants. It was dumb. Anything less than a championship is a failire. You are fool to accept anything less or not a real fan of them team or just a harden fan.... It all depends on how he leaves. Harden is the best player we had since Dream why would anyone want to pretend he is leaving. Its silly.
Yeah I'm sure the Jazz fans wish they gave up on that Stockton & Malone team. Total failure those two were. Anyone who wears a Stockton jersey isn't a real Jazz fan. They failed.
This is such a good response! Gone are the days when people root for teams, now the youngsters make it a league of TMZ personas. SAD!