Woj: Harden Return?

Aruba77 · May 19, 2023

https://apple.news/AY0w7cQd2Riqefj78rpmp-Q

James Harden Expected to Leave 76ers for Rockets, per Report

https://apple.news/AKldadufMQSyx6hwPP2z2Sw

James Harden Rumors: 76ers Star Expected to Sign Rockets Contract in NBA Free Agency

peleincubus · May 19, 2023

DatRocketFan said: ↑

Tbh I'm not even the biggest Harden fan but cool for u to think that my opposite is asian sensation the lunatic who btch about for years.

I haven't watch a single game of him aside from highlight reels but I'm quite excited to see him in action for us running an offense once more.

U gonna have to suck it up regardless if he's signed might as well enjoy whatever Harden has left and worry about the consequences later. After three years of being sht I'm down to seeing us win again.
Click to expand...

it's all in fun. i don't take sports too seriously. to be honest i dont think it's the best move to sign him but will do exactly what you stated. Unless... it involves trading Green/Jabari/Eason to placate him then I will actually watch less games than I have the last 3 seasons.

Houston77 · May 19, 2023

9baller · May 19, 2023

Now, if only someone would crop Tilman's face onto Thanos..

DatRocketFan · May 19, 2023

For years folks and tilman stans blamed solely harden for the sht cp3-westbrick trade. Wonder what mental gymnastics folks are gonna do and blame when harden is signed to a hefty contract with tilman blessing.

Asian Sensation · May 19, 2023

Lol @ the delusional loser fanbois blaming Doc for the series loss.

Philly with a 3-2 series lead and a chance to close the series out at home and these are Harden’s sorry ass numbers.

GAME 6
13 points
4-16 FG
0-6 3 PT
5 TURNOVERS

GAME 7
9 points
3-11 FG
1-5 3 PT
5 TURNOVERS

Somehow it’s Doc’s fault. Okayyyy Like he cast a spell on Harden or made sure to tell him to give me your 2 worst performances when it matters most!

Players play … coaches coach. Can’t coach a quitter, choker and the biggest loser ever. Ain’t no damn coach overcoming those pathetic performances.

Actually on 2nd thought maybe Doc should’ve pulled a Milk Hair and benched the sorry ass bum the entire 4th or better yet should’ve sat his ass for both games 6 and 7 and they’d be in the ECF

AroundTheWorld · May 19, 2023

Technical question - IF this were to happen, when could we actually sign him? Even now already?

chenjy9 · May 19, 2023

AroundTheWorld said: ↑

Technical question - IF this were to happen, when could we actually sign him? Even now already?
Click to expand...

When FA starts I believe

Asian Sensation · May 19, 2023

AroundTheWorld said: ↑

Technical question - IF this were to happen, when could we actually sign him? Even now already?
Click to expand...

NBA free agency will begin on July 6, 2023. The free agent process will begin on June 30, 2023, when teams can begin negotiating contracts with free agents.

On June 30th we can offer the loser bum his vet minimum deal for his loser tour to satisfy his loser Onlyfans.

Bobbythegreat · May 19, 2023

AroundTheWorld said: ↑

Technical question - IF this were to happen, when could we actually sign him? Even now already?
Click to expand...

July 6

AroundTheWorld · May 19, 2023

OK so in any case, this reporting is way premature.

Ziggy · May 19, 2023

Yall bozos still watching this **** team would be LUCKY to have a washed Harden on this absolute trash team that is going nowhere. Suckers. Good coaching hire though. That's IT.

zeeshan2 · May 19, 2023

For the Rockets, bringing Harden — one of the franchise’s most decorated players — back into the fold at age 34 might be seen as a gamble, but it’s one the organization should be willing to take, especially if he’s able to continue this elite combination of playmaking and scoring.
From an emotional standpoint, sources with knowledge of his thinking continue to maintain that while Harden’s head and focus are on winning a championship with the 76ers, his heart will always be in Houston. It’s a comfort zone, his safe space.

For starters, it’s the city where he’s lived the longest in his adult life. He continues to have strong ties to the community, in addition to his family and other extensive relationships throughout the area. His nonprofit, Impact 13, aims to improve the quality of life in areas like education and financial freedom for disenfranchised youth and women.

As a businessman, he’s also intertwined with the city. He’s a part-owner of Major League Soccer’s Houston Dynamo. He’s also the owner of Thirteen restaurant, one of the most vibrant and popular destinations in town. In a lot of ways, Harden is Houston. And Houston is home.
“My family is here — my mom, my sister, my brother — so this is the place I would call home,” Harden told Haute Magazine last year. “I feel like this city deserves for me to still put my stamp on it even though I’m no longer playing here. I’ve got to find ways to continue to do that, and I will.”

There’s the more existential aspect of his past Rockets life, too, all those creature comforts he enjoyed in the Harden-centric ecosystem in Houston and that didn’t travel with him to Philadelphia.For all those years — the eight consecutive playoff berths, two West Finals appearances, one MVP season and eight All-Star appearances — Harden had an unofficial agreement with his Rockets bosses. So long as he showed up and showed out, he’d be free to bend the rules when it came to well-chronicled off-court style.

“It was the place that allowed him to truly be him,” one source close to the situation said. “They embrace the clubs, the private jets to Vegas, the lack of conditioning. … So they were like, ‘No, you go.’ As long as you put up 30, we’re good. That was not any other place he’d ever been. … He loves that place. It was the place that allowed him to truly be him.”
To that end, sources say his relationship with Tilman Fertitta and his son, Patrick Fertitta, remains strong. Patrick has worked closely with his father as a liaison between ownership and management for years. On the court, the ties remain as well.

During the offseason, Harden spent a considerable amount of time working out with the Rockets’ young players. Sources say Harden is extremely fond of their collection of talent, notably second-year guard Jalen Green.

“I’m proud of him,” Harden said of Green following a surprising December loss to Houston in double overtime. “He has not only lived up to expectations, but he is coming into his swagger every single game. … His aggressiveness from last year has carried over to this year. He’s been attacking the rim, shooting his shots and playing with a lot of confidence. As a young guy, if you have confidence, you can learn all the other things. …As long as he continues to put the work in, he’ll learn game-by-game, season-by-season as he continues to grow.”

The Rockets season has been a disaster thus far, with the team on course to owning the league’s worst record for three consecutive seasons — or in other words, the post-Harden era. Between a slew of injuries, a lack of offensive cohesion, a disappearing defensive act and a coaching staff struggling to put the pieces together, it’s been months of head-scratching, finger-pointing and collective frustration on multiple fronts. But still, hope remains.

For a roster this young, it’s become apparent there’s a need for quality veterans. Eric Gordon (a close former teammate of Harden who’s open to rejoining the team in the future) privately and publicly bemoaned Houston’s lack of experience around the youthful core for months, before being traded to the Los Angeles Clippers last month. But for what it’s worth, the front office plans to address those deficiencies in free agency.

The Rockets are the worst team in the league at taking care of the ball, coughing it up nearly 17 times a game. Harden’s 3.15 assist-to-turnover ratio is bested by only the likes of Chris Paul, Tyrese Haliburton and Fred Van Vleet among starting point guards, none of whom are having better scoring or overall offensive seasons than him. Defensively, Harden’s been a positive as a 76er according to Cleaning the Glass, an interesting twist in the narrative against him in that respect. Harden would be nothing short of a godsend for a group lacking in self-confidence, organization, structure and swagger.

From a locker room perspective, potentially inserting Harden during a pivotal offseason could have positive long-lasting effects. Sources close to Harden highlight 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey as an example of the veteran’s mentorship and leadership, taking the young talent under his wing and retooling his mindset, propelling a third season worthy of Sixth Man of the Year honors. It’s also no coincidence Embiid’s best seasons have coincided with Harden’s arrival in Philadelphia. His presence has meant everything, even if it’s gone surprisingly under the radar.

This isn’t the same Harden that for years operated in a heliocentric system both mentally and schematically. Somewhere along the lines, whether it was him realizing the wear and tear of averaging or flirting with 30 points a night, the rising talent of players around the league or a juxtaposition of the two, Harden’s mentality shifted. One source with ties to his Rockets days described him as “incredibly driven.” He’s now in his Chris Paul/Phoenix Suns era, a highly talented player willing to defer to fit in more and amplify others as opposed to making everyone fit around him.
“
He’s one of the best point guards in the league right now,” one source said. “Without a doubt. That’s a big step towards winning.”

Players like Green and Jabari Smith Jr. — another player Harden is fond of — would benefit greatly from his tutelage, although they’re some tiers below Devin Booker and Miles Bridges. The former would require a significant jump from his second to third season akin to Booker, but Harden would undoubtedly improve Green’s efficiency, making him a more lethal off-ball weapon while still giving room for him to spread his own wings with the ball in his hands.

As plausible and perhaps even likely as a potential Harden and Rockets reunion appears to be, a few more factors can’t be ignored.

Sources close to the process say the Rockets are confident they’ll land a meeting with Harden should he declare for free agency as expected, but what comes next? For nearly a decade, Harden was used to a certain level of freedom and control, both on and off the floor. Would the Fertittas and Stone be willing to go down that path again? If this Harden 2.0 version is here to stay — and by all accounts, it is — haggling over semantics seems less important.

“He wants to play basketball and wants to win,” one source with the team previously said. “If you can’t handle that, you’re in the wrong business.”
Morey and the Sixers, meanwhile, have evidence this new-and-improved Harden can lead and thrive in Philly. So is this pressure being applied by the Houston possibility merely a negotiating ploy, or a true sign of his affection for the Rockets life? There is, it seems, a blurring of the lines between leverage and love.

“Everything in this league is leverage,” one source close to Harden said. “But that doesn’t mean he won’t go to Houston.”

Conversely, Harden will have a lot to consider by the time July rolls around. What the Sixers do in the playoffs, and how that leaves him feeling about what comes next? How healthy are the partnerships with Embiid and Rivers?

Did Sixers management put the full max on the table? What does the rest of the Rockets roster look like, and can they somehow find a way to go from cellar dweller to contender in one season? What does the rest of Harden’s market look like beyond the Sixers and Rockets?

The answers will come with time. And depending on what happens this summer, we’ll know if that final phone call between Harden and the Rockets was plot or prescient.
Click to expand...

Reeko · May 19, 2023

zeeshan2 said: ↑

Click to expand...

Why do they keep spamming this old article that was written almost 3 months ago?

swear this is like the 4th time they’ve done this

Bobbythegreat · May 19, 2023

zeeshan2 said: ↑

Click to expand...

This entire article is basically throwing shade at the Rockets organization saying they'll be Harden's b**** and let him do whatever he wants to do whenever he wants to do it. He doesn't have to focus on basketball at all, he can just party and collect a paycheck.

This has to all be pushed by Harden's people, I don't think the Rockets FO would intentionally make themselves look that pathetic.

seclusion · May 19, 2023

Reeko said: ↑

Why do they keep spamming this old article that was written almost 3 months ago?

swear this is like the 4th time they’ve done this
Click to expand...

I was confused too.

Kevooooo · May 19, 2023

Ziggy said: ↑

Yall bozos still watching this **** team would be LUCKY to have a washed Harden on this absolute trash team that is going nowhere. Suckers. Good coaching hire though. That's IT.
Click to expand...

You sound like quite the “fan.”

KingSamJack · May 19, 2023

I don't know how true this is but saw this post on Reddit that Harden wants to come back to Houston because his mother has cancer, I think he will take a discount if this is true.. @Nook anything to back this up?

DreamShook · May 19, 2023

I do not want Harden back in Houston. i would rather suffer knowing the kids played their hardest than Knowing Harden will **** the bed again. This dude is so weird. Yall ready to wonder if harden is drunk for 4 more years??

we seen who harden is. please stay in philly.

Snow Villiers · May 19, 2023

KingSamJack said: ↑

I don't know how true this is but saw this post on Reddit that Harden wants to come back to Houston because his mother has cancer, I think he will take a discount if this is true.. @Nook anything to back this up?
Click to expand...

Damn. Sucks if true.

Forums

Woj: Harden Return?

Aruba77 Member

peleincubus Member

Houston77 COOKIES AND CAKE, MY TEAM BAKED!
Supporting Member

9baller Member

DatRocketFan Member

Asian Sensation Member

AroundTheWorld Insufferable 98er
Supporting Member

chenjy9 Numbers Don't Lie
Supporting Member

Asian Sensation Member

Bobbythegreat Member
Supporting Member

AroundTheWorld Insufferable 98er
Supporting Member

Ziggy QUEEN ANON

zeeshan2 Member

Reeko Member

Bobbythegreat Member
Supporting Member

seclusion rip chadwick

Kevooooo Member

KingSamJack Member

DreamShook Member

Snow Villiers Member

Share This Page

About ClutchFans

Rockets Content

Support ClutchFans!

Woj: Harden Return?

Aruba77 Member

peleincubus Member

Houston77 COOKIES AND CAKE, MY TEAM BAKED! Supporting Member

9baller Member

DatRocketFan Member

Asian Sensation Member

AroundTheWorld Insufferable 98er Supporting Member

chenjy9 Numbers Don't Lie Supporting Member

Asian Sensation Member

Bobbythegreat Member Supporting Member

AroundTheWorld Insufferable 98er Supporting Member

Ziggy QUEEN ANON

zeeshan2 Member

Reeko Member

Bobbythegreat Member Supporting Member

seclusion rip chadwick

Kevooooo Member

KingSamJack Member

DreamShook Member

Snow Villiers Member

Share This Page

Houston77 COOKIES AND CAKE, MY TEAM BAKED!
Supporting Member

AroundTheWorld Insufferable 98er
Supporting Member

chenjy9 Numbers Don't Lie
Supporting Member

Bobbythegreat Member
Supporting Member

AroundTheWorld Insufferable 98er
Supporting Member

Bobbythegreat Member
Supporting Member