I wouldn't say rather mitigate damage vs maximize success, I'd say the Rockets should mitigate damage if Harden doesn't change his mind. So we're working on different assumptions here. You assume that the Rockets said, "sure James, we'll try to trade you, but if we're not getting a great offer, it ain't going to happen." I'm assuming, for the sake of this thread, that they said, "we hope you change your mind, but if you don't, we'll trade you, but you need to play well in order to get the best offer possible." No one here really knows what the exact conversation is. And of course, we all hope Harden changes his mind, wins a chip, signs an extension, etc. But assuming James is demanding a trade and doesn't change his mind, my argument is that maximizing success isn't even possible because he could pull an AD and sit next year if the reality is he really demanded a trade and the Rockets said ok. I don't think forcing James to be here if he doesn't want to will be beneficial towards winning the championship. So in lieu of that, I'd rather trade him, if they must, for a Brown package, who is signed for 4 years and could be retained via bird rights. While starting all over is okay, it's suckier than any other team starting all over in 3 years because other teams have more draft picks (thanks Tilman/Harden/Westbrook), so the Rockets aren't incentivized to tank. With Brown making $28M, the Rockets can still start over with Brown and Wood as good contracts and work under the cap, though it'd probably be more beneficial to work over the cap and get the extra $30M. All of this is full of what ifs. And the best what if is if he changes his mind, then this whole coversation is moot.
I don't think Ainge is trading him. Bill Simmons, on his podcast the other day, said he (Bill) doesn't want JB traded. Seems to me that Jacki Mac sort of agreed as Bill's guest. Bill said JB, in addition to being a vastly improving player every year, has a chance to be one the most important Boston athletes in a long time when also factoring in his off the court activities and leadership. Brian Windhurst from ESPN said on his podcast yesterday and the Zach Lowe podcast that he doesn't see Ainge making a trade. Ainge "dances around" and never pulls the trigger. He also asked the rhetorical question, "just how many guys in this league would you trade Jaylen Brown for right now?" <paraphrasing>. Windhurst also threw more teams in the mix then typically discussed. How many times does a team like, Cleveland for instance, have a chance at a player like Harden? He wasn't predicting anything but just making the point. He also mentioned Orlando. Zach Lowe thought Minny and NO were his dark horses. Best option for Houston is to keep Harden and hope he changes his mind. The team has looked great lately. Why wouldn't he want to stay? Any team he goes to will have to gut it for Houston.
let harden keep balling let the rockets keep winning. I’d love for him to stay with you guys. You are great fans and he deserves to stay in Houston. I don’t think he will but I do hope he does. harden is a major talent upgrade from brown and I do think he raises the Celtics ceiling greatly but brown is just playing great and with his increase in usage instead of his flaws being magnified he’s actually making them obsolete. His playmaking has increased, his shot creation is much better. I just can’t see why Danny would gut the team for harden when after the trade they still wouldn’t clearly be favorites in the east. Brown’s shoot percentage will drop because he’s shooting ridiculous but he’s absolutely making the leap this year and I just can’t see ainge trading that away. I’d be shocked at this point if it happens and honestly if brown continues to play close to this level I think by the end of the year he’d be more desirable than Simmons who I have been real high on.
and if they don't want harden to go to the 76ers, nets, miami, raptors, bukcs, atl, etc they need to give up jb
bucks don’t have **** to give, questionable if raps will, nets don’t, atl won’t. Always will be about Philly, den, Miami. No one else matters
id never pass on a move because of wall but if wall is healthy and playing at all star or near all star level that fit with Simmons like many have mentioned is awkward
more like questionable if nets will nets are 3-4 just lost to the wizards with kyrie and durant playing are they gonna tank the season again?
1) they literally have dog **** to offer you. Literally nothing. Those players aren’t getting mpj or Simmons or brown or anyone that’s being flipped for James harden. Why would rockets fan even want that? The fact your talking about them is a waste of time. 2) with the exception of Philly, whose waiting to see how coaching changes and play style along with new roster construction makes Simmons and embiid teams are either in on harden or out on harden. They aren’t going to severely over react to 6 games in a season and panic. If they wanted harden to start the year they still want him now and if they didn’t before with the exception of Philly and maybe Toronto they don’t want him now. your wasting breathe typing or talking about Brooklyn.
Makes a lot of sense to me. Boston has a pretty big window with Brown and JT. They don't have to deal for Harden. I do think of the four that are mentioned by the OP, Jaylen Brown is heads above the rest, and if Houston did get an offer that included Brown, they'd have to seriously think about pulling the trigger. Brown and Woods give Houston a future. Stone's got a tough call to make. there's a balance; there's a place where you have to say yes to a Harden deal (because let's face it, at some point he's going to screw us). But i think it's been great the way this has played out vs where we were a few weeks ago. Not having to be in a hurry to trade our franchise player is huge.
The whole attitude of i gotta leave Houston to win a championship is lame. It's mainly he not trusting Tillman Fertitta.
That's definitely a fair feeling to have. Imagine the majority of Rockets fans don't trust Tilman, now imagine the prized asset of the organization feeling the same? After all the lame ass drama of the off-season and the first 2 weeks, **** has settled down quite a bit. The media is just rehashing rumors and **** and not even that snake, Tim McMahon, has been able to get a good juicy story anymore.
Now back to me being a Celtics fan. If Ainge says no Brown and no Tatum (Tatum can't be traded yet any way), is there no way a trade can happen with the Cs? What if Ainge opened up the rest of the roster and included multiple 1sts and swaps. Take whatever you want below. I understand if the answer is "No". If you can get a Simmons or Siakam (he's not looking great) or MPJ or Hero/Robinson then I think I get it more. Either way best of luck with the Harden situation and like I said, I think your best option is keeping him if possible, obviously. And things are looking much better lately. Kemba Smart Langford Nesmith Pritchard Rob Williams Grant Williams Theis All of our 1sts
