Would you consider playing 40 minutes a game while producing at the same rate as last year without Durant and Westbrook on the floor an improvement? That would make him a 30 ppg scorer.
So we have to get a top 5 player?? How exactly? LBJ, Kevin Durant? Not going anywhere sorry CP3, Dwight? Funny, aren't they both free agents NEXT season, the same season we have max cap room and a another top level player already here???? We might not get these guys but I'm pretty sure we are going the right way about it, not stinking it up getting a top3 pick which we all no is a long shot to turn into a top level player in the first place. In Morey we trust.
Actually, we did tank. It only lasted for the preseason. Morey traded away and/or amnestied key players in hopes of landing a high potential star caliber player. In the past he had set us up to make that big trade but the season he went "all in" to give us every possible chance to acquire a star. And, it paid off.
tanking is an option for acquiring elite talent when: 1. you cant bring them here via free agency or 2. you cant trade for them because the elite players of the league have incredible amounts of leverage All we did was get a robin that could potentially be a batman. Its still better than having a team of aquamen and wonder twins. In the end, the trade was good because first, and foremost, martin is gone. Lamb was a good piece, but i consider harden better because of his proven ability and youth. the picks were late and we kept our pick, so we can still get talent if the experiment fails. We a still better than the last few years because we have changed up the mediocrity course we were taking.
They're not going for Harden, Lin Asik, they're going for Max $$$+Harden, Lin, Asik. Harden, Lin, Asik is already a hell of a core. Plus, what's your alternative? Lin, Asik and Kmart? Or is it Jeremy Lamb? LOLOLOL
Not quite in full effect since we're now too good to obtain a top5 pick. Or at least, I hope we are. Now we're gonna have to tread water for some time longer while collecting assets until we can make our next move.
He might be playing the hindsight card, but you're playing the theoretical card. Top 5 pick is obviously better than the 14th pick. In theory, that would be because you have all these "theory" superstars just waiting to be drafted. But what you don't understand is the reality is getting a lotto pick (1-5) to perform better than Harden has is almost impossible already. Getting a superstar who is better than Harden via the draft is not only impossible, its also impossible to keep him if you tanked. Don't believe me? Look at Shaq, Bosh, Gasol, Melo, Amare, Dwight and Lebron. All those guys were drafted by teams in the lottery, yet all of them ditched their team and went to a high profile team. In today's NBA if you're a sad-sacked franchise you're gonna be ditched by your player when he becomes a FA. Tanking makes your team crap, and the 3-5 years of leeway you have is not enough to clear the mess you made trying to tank.
If we still had Lowry or Dragic I think the Rockets would be looking very good this season, and an extremely attractive destination for free agents in the near future. At least Lin's marketability might help draw another star to pair with Harden.
We still have assets lmao. What do you call Parson, Tjones, Dmo, Ppat and enough capspace to sign the max? If we somehow end in the lotto, we still have our own lotto pick as well so yeah. I dunno why people's still b****ing to be honest.
You're the one who sounds like Fox News. You live in some sort of bubble where everyone says you need to acquire one of the top 5 players in the NBA in order to win a title. If that's your criteria then we literally can't win until the 2003-2006 classes retire because no young player will move into the top 5 while they're still around.
Yes that would be amazing if he did that. I just don't see the versatility in his offensive game to be able to do that. That said I will continue to reiterate that I do love this trade.
Nah, I don't think the trade makes us that much better this year. For the long-term, that's a different story. People undervalue Martin's impact. He was primed for a great year. Swapping Martin out for Harden doesn't mean more than one or two wins this year. I think we are still squarely in the lotto.
I will admit I was a pro-tanker but I was expecting a Martin trade for more picks or a middling player. For Harden, I am more than happy that we are off the tanking track. As many previous posters have stated, Harden is the type of player you hope to get by tanking. Harden for 5-6 years is much more preferable to tanking for 2 years with no guarantees and a low probability of getting a top 3 pick and the pick actually panning out. I wasn't even expecting a trade this early so it was rather a pleasant surprise that this team wouldn't be rocked by a trade in the middle of the season. All in all, love the trade and I'm hoping for one more that pushes this team forward a bit more (Josh Smith? Cousins?).
We are still on the tanking track and the last thing I would want to do is trade for Josh Smith. Smith is a good player but we already know he is not a superstar and will only take away from the development of DMo and the other power forwards we have. I would be all about getting Cousins because he has way more upside and could be a top 3 center in the league. I think fans are getting ahead of themselves by thinking we are suddenly going to be good now. We are still young and inexperienced. SCHOENE still doesn't project us to be anywhere near the playoffs and I'm guessing the new Vegas number won't either. Tanking is still happening but we now have a legit semi-proven piece to build around.
I am confused as to why everyone feels we are going to build around James Harden? I love James but he isn't a player like LBJ or Howard (who you build around). James is a player that you use to build. From what I have read, Morey & Les are very high on Asik, Lin, Harden, KD, Parsons as there long term solution at those 4 spots. Jones seems to have separated himself in terms of future PF prospect. I think the term that the Rockets are building around James Harden is incorrect. I think he is one of there franchise cornerstones in that he is the long term solution at that 2 spot but not a transcendant put a team on his back player that you build around per se.
I can agree with that to an extent. I can't say that I believe that James Harden can win a ring as the best player on the team but we haven't seen enough of him with starter minutes and the green light to say that he can't. As for now we are giving him a max contract and he is the best player on the team so he is the person that we are building around. I think of it like a Paul Pierce with the Celtics situation. We are still going to need a KG and a Ray Allen but Harden will be the one that they come to.
