I doubt they would open the whole arena next year. Partially at best. The vaccine has to be circulated and that takes a lot of time in a big arse country.
Harden didn’t force the Rockets to get Westbrook. The day before the deal was made, Harden was told a trade wasn’t likely and he was fine with it. The trade was made because Tilman Fertitta insisted they deal be made. The success or failure of the deal rests with Tilman.
The probability of grabbing a superstar is much lower outside of the lottery, but not impossible. There have been so very good players drafted outside of the lottery and maybe the Rockets can do some good scouting and get a good player. No guarantees, but it's better than not even having draft picks to have the opportunity. A good role player would also go a long way. We just need some positive trade assets.
I get the feeling Houston wants to rebuild around Westbrook suddenly. No market for a recent MVP? Baloney, they aren't trading him for nothing either. So Harden wants to keep playing ISO ball and wants to rejoin KD instead of staying with Westbrook? That's kinda dirty pool man. Doing your long time friend like that. No wonder Westbrook wants out but I'd bet he'd be happy with just Harden out lol
I think we’re in the honeymoon phase since yeah the rockets have not had a draft pick for such a long time. That will fade quick and people will get sick of it and back to the damn this what it’s like without harden for years to come
He want a difference maker. Before game 7 against okc we were all believing we should’ve kept capela. He got roasted by cp3 and then small guards in isolation all series. He got a few blocks at the rims but those guard had there
Can't judge the book by its cover if one doesn't know what the book is about. I hope we know the direction soon. Rebuild, retool or just wasting away.
LOL @ people hoping this makes Harden stay. I hope it's a move to say we've moved on and are collecting picks to rebuild or trade for a franchise changing established guy or top-3 young talent. I don't consider Simmons that, but I'm sure Stone might. Still hoping for a Harden trade that nets us a young guy like Murray.
At some point we have to start looking towards the future. If Harden truly wants out, then the team needs to look out for themselves and maximize the assets this team has to make moves looking towards the future. Houston is not going to be a desirable market for a superstar to sign here. If we were to trade Harden, I'm not necessarily oppose to pursuing Simmons granted that we receive a ton of draft compensation as well. We will need draft picks to build this team out. Obviously, not all draft picks are successful, but I do have faith that we have a competent coaching staff that will be able to develop some of these players. I understand there are several avenues to re-building, but for a team that hasn't drafted a whole lot in the last few years, I look forward to starting from here and hoping (crossing my fingers) that our FO is competent enough to draft good talent.
Nook, this has been my perception all along. Keep putting this out there so we all know who to blame. Morey always seemed to listen to Harden but I don't think he would ever pull the trigger if his scouts, front office and analytics weren't on board with Harden's wishes. It seemed Harden always understood that Morey has final say but Harden appreciates that his input is valued and investigated by a team of people that are paid handsomely to do their job. Harden respected Morey's decision no matter what. Westbrook is definitely not a Morey type of player and giving up all of those picks for such a polarizing player does not seem like a Morey move either. Harden had a lot of power over Morey but can't "force" him to make a trade. The only person who can "force" Morey to make a trade is the one writing Morey's paycheck. Tilman even said as much after the trade happened that he was the one who pushed the trade through. Would love to find that quote but have not been able to yet. That was the beginning of the end for Morey who I am sure did not like how Tilman could force his hand like that after Les let Morey do whatever was needed (mostly). A couple of months after the potential franchise killing trade, a disgruntled Morey makes the surprising decision to make a political tweet against China to royally piss off his employer for forcing Morey's hand. Of course this is all speculation on my part but it does seem like Morey's tweet was intentional as we all know how smart he is.
Oh I get it what they’re doing. It sucks that it’s happening at this point but it is what it is. We were talking about competing for a title just 2 years ago. The fact that we’re at this point now is frustrating
Just trying to go over a depth chart Harden, Westbrook, Clemons Gordon, McLemore, - House, Nwaba, - Tucker, Ariza, - -, -, - That's the roster currently. I know more is coming but I don't think I've been so unsure of what since Yao retired due to injury. I honestly believe they upgraded the coaching staff too so like...what the hell is going on? Rebuild around Westbrook can't be the plan, no stars want to play with him either. Maybe find the best package for Harden available and then let Westbrook rehab his value like CP did with younger players. OKC just laid out that blueprint and they look like a team ready for a legit rebuild. I'm not trading Harden to 76ers or Nets though. I'm not doing him any favors right now, he can orchestrate a package literally anywhere else.
The player that i think the Rockets could trade for if they really want to use those picks is probably Turner, if Indiana trades Oladipo they might be fine with Gordon plus picks for Turner.
