[What if?] How do you build the team to compete if Harden agrees to come back this summer?

He’s not coming back here. He shouldn’t/doesn’t really want to. We shouldn’t want him in our situation.

 

Tilman is never going to pay an aging veteran $60M a year. And even if he agreed, we'd have to give up half our roster to make salaries match on that trade. I love Dame as a player, but his contract means he'll never be a Rocket.

 

James Harden at his peak was one of the 3 best offensive players of all time. The game changed because of him, teams in the playoffs planned entirely around stopping him and he was amazing.

Having said that, the Rockets don’t need a 34 year old James Harden and he doesn’t need to play with a bunch of 18-21 year olds.

Worry about drafting well, developing the young players, establishing a better player development system and improving the quality of coaching and scouting. Sign promising players that are young and can fill take on a bigger role.

Signing a 34 year old Harden is very much a Stone/Fertitta move and is dumb.

 

If Harden comes back it is for the max and is just a money grab. I wouldn’t blame him, he is going to be 34 and turning down 200-300 million is hard to do when you give people literally bags of money for their birthday.

 

Whatever I need to do. I will run for President if need be.

 

Harden coming back to Rockets is not like Lebron returning to the Cavs. If he were to come back, he should not be a center piece in any form whatsoever -- just take backseat a role.

But most likely this team will be no where near ready to compete by the time his career is over.

 

It's hard for me to believe that Harden opted out of the contract and take a paycut if he didn't have a wink wink deal with Morey. He's not going anywhere unless someone is willing to overpay big time. When I say overpay, I'm talking in years since I still think he is a max player in the league. He's just as efficient as ever and he is leading the league in assists.

 

I see what you are saying, but what better uses for our massive cap space do you see?

The FA class in 23 and 24 is really thin.

 

Never thought about Dame but if we land outside the top 2, we should trade a top 5 pick + a couple more first to Portland. He has said good things about KPJ & Green

if Dame really loved Portland he would agree to a trade and help set up Portland with a top 5 to start a rebuild immediately

Get Snyder as head coach and we’ll be getting somewhere

 

What would that do? Dump picks and young guys for a dollar store harden? God no

 

Seriously, do you guys really want Dame's $63M for one season getting in the way of extensions for our young players or bringing in other free agents? Do you really want to tie up half the salary cap on a then-34 year old? That's madness.

 

I don't want Dame at $30m much less $60m ..... and in general, your point is a valid one ....


But damnit, it doesn't look like our young players are worth extending.


That's not a reason to make bad deals, just saying - they suck.

 

No Wemby? Draft Scoot or another pg? Makes you wonder why it makes sense to get Harden, but if he really wanted to stay here until retirement, i respect that and would treasure that tbh. Houston is his home and he wants to come home. Is he only saying that because we may draft the next big thing that could immediately start winning? Will he have zero interest if we lose the lottery?
When he talked about his situation in Brooklyn, he made it very clear he didn't have to leave everything he loved in Houston and it's his home,etc. Made note we didn't have a roster to compete but made it clear he truly didn't want to leave home. Maybe fluff to be welcomed back in Houston..and hey..it worked on me.

Wemby will be as impactful as rookie TD imo, but rookie TD had 32 year old Admiral and they still got a 2nd round gentleman's sweep by that old team full of plumbers that Jordan faced twice in the Finals. Rockets will still be too inexperienced with Harden the only vet unless you want to demote or trade 1 or 2 of Apli,Bari,Jalen Green. Harden is several years older and will be getting too old as Wemby comes into his own compared to Admiral aging with emerging Duncan. You got a 2 year window with Harden imo.
Could be a CP3 situation, though. CP was 34 when he went to the Suns and everyone thought he was done.

I'm more of a fan of pure pg Harden play style, so i'm all for it. Come home Beard.

 

Oh i guess this is the thread about hypothetical roster moves with Harden to win now. Yeah, just another cleverly disguised way of giving up and getting rid of Jalen and Jabari. I'm not trading Jalen or Jabari right now with Harden. Not trading Tari either. He comes to play with them and as much as i love Alpi, i'd package him and KPj and KjM and Tate and whatever pick for a disgruntled all star Harden can play with. I'd assume we won the Wemby lottery, though. Otherwise im not trading 3rd or 4th pick or 5th pick-wherever we land to make win now moves for a 34 year old Harden either.

 

Basically if Harden is coming back, he should do so knowing he won't even have half the power he once had in Houston. He's not running **** and changing the roster and sacrificing our youth for some 2 year window. Hell no.

 

If Harden came back and the Rockets landed Wemby I think you roll with

Sengun
Wemby
Tari
KPJ
Harden

If Jalen Green magically learns how to play basketball you put him at the 2 and KPJ at the 3. If Smith learns how to shoot you move Sengun.

I don't think Harden comes back if the Rockets don't win the lottery.

 

While I think the jury's still out on the youngsters, your point is valid. We need to maintain flexibility going forward. While we shouldn't take on Dame's massive contract, if Ja or SGA (or another young, elite player) is at play, they'd be better long-term fits and cheaper upfront.

 

Wouldn’t it be easier to hack his emails and manufacture “proof” of him being a racist and serial sexual harasser?

 

If you pair up Dame and James, You're guaranteed a top 3 offense in the league. Dame has been ridiculous this year and JH's effiiency is way up but he has to force feed the ball to Joel for his MVP hotshotting.

The problem would be defense. But I guess that's where Draymond comes in to play

 

He quit on the team and he quit on the fans. Screw the guy.