Shams - Philly is also one of Harden's preferred destinations

this is the beginning of a drama-filled stretch where our star players don't want to be here, we'll keep digging the hole deeper, and in the end we'll come out of it like Ray Liotta when Paulie hands him a fist full of sweaty money that's barely enough to cover one-days worth of a coke habit. yikes.

 

Simmons did not force his way out of the shitstorm the 6ers created when they traded away their future for Jimmy Butler THEN were unable to retain him.

Tilly had BOTH which are critical factors in keeping their franchise player happy and motivated to win a championship.

And he F'ed it all away by being petty, cheap and STUPID AF.

 

Simmons + Thybulle instead of Richardson plus 3 or 4 SRP on top of all these swaps and picks.

 

Hell, if Westbrook will get us the #3 pick, straight up, I'll drive down from Austin and take him to Intercontinental. Assuming he's in Houston!

Simmons is 24 and Josh is 27. Move some of the picks @Clutch's deal would get us for youth, either in trade or through the draft. There you are. Instant rebuild with a team worth watching. While I still don't want to lose Harden, I would go for that move if rebuilding is the future we face.

 

I included horford and egordon in the trade because I thought both would be good for their respective teams.

The deal would work fine without including them, ie... the proposal clutch made. Rockets would need to find a center elsewhere to complete a team with Eric Gordon, jrich, tucker, simmons, covington... Which would be a damn good team, especially defensively.

The philly trade scenario is imo the best package out there. Better than what new Orleans got for Davis and 100x better than what the spurs got for kawhi.

In regards to Westbrook... I'd be surprised if the rockets got a lottery pick for him. It's also been reported that the market for him is very thin at the moment as well as charlotte not offering the 3rd pick.

 

It will be interesting to hear what, other than Ben is actually being offered by Daryl.

I could see MJ overpaying.

 

If Morey calls...

 

If i'm Ben Simmons I request a trade immediately! If Morey is going to step in and immediately try to trade me, then I'm saying F' Philly. Send me to Houston for nothing!
Houston receives Ben Simmons for a bag of potato chips!

 

Amen to that Deck! I'll give you a hand. It would give us an excuse to finally meet in person. We could talk Rockets, old flicks, and bask in the spirit of the sixties! At some point it will be safe to actually do that. (Damn Covid)

Anyway, I guess Clutch's deal WOULD work when you factor in trading those picks.
It frustrated me to no end when Les wouldn't allow Daryl to rebuild while pandering to China. And I fear something similar with Tilman.

 

I do not think it will be a drama once we know what his intentions are.

We'll learn to live with it till it happens and afterwards.

 

His intentions are he wants to win and not play for a guy like Tilman who won’t do what is necessary to win. Not to mention he drove Morey away who was very close to James. He alienated MDA who again James was close to. The guy wants out and rightfully so.

 

Plus Thybulle. All this around the mid-season trade deadline when Simmons is fit.

 

If Harden really wants out then so be it. Yes, he has a lot of say in where he wants to go, but so do the Rockets. Sending him to his desired destination is fine if, and ONLY if, we receive a package of young up-and-coming players, one with a potential star status, and multiple picks. Giving Harden away for anything less would be the worst financial decision Tillman could make for himself. I doubt he wants to sink his own ship, but who knows

 

Man, unless he has a no trade clause, I don't give even one single **** about Harden's "preferred destinations". You send him out for whoever gives us the best offer. Period! What is this bullshit anyway? He makes more money in a day than a lot of you will make in a lifetime. I think he will survive the trauma...

 

The

By far the worst thing that Fertitta did was listen to James Hardin and force Morey to make the Westbrook trade.

Harden said he knew exactly what needed to be done....Fertitta a foolishly listened to him and it destroyed the franchise.

Now that he's screwed things up beyond repair, Harden wants out, but no one should forget that he's the one that screwed it all up.

 

Instant classic, Aruba!

 

The other way to look at it is this. Players are extremely close this day in age. Harden & Russ could make it incredibly difficult for Tilman to sign meaningful players if they don’t try and honor what they are asking for. There are two sides to everything. Tilmans reputation is trash already. If you have JH and Westy talking to players about the toxic ownership good luck to getting players to sign.

 

Simply not true. @Nook and a few others have debunked this many many times. Harden was perfectly fine with CP3. He wanted to add either JB or Westbrook while keeping CP3.

 

Just curious.....how is the, “Screw Harden, bring in a disciplinarian coach” crowd feeling right now?

JVG would have had Harden asking for a trade sooner. Just wondering.....still think JVG would
be good as Harden exits?

Would JVG bail after Harden says, bye-bye?

 

You're not wrong! But in the end, most of the time money talks. Tilman's reputation is **** anyway, so anyone who comes here isn't exactly doing it for the ambiance...