Any competent NBA PG with a reasonably good coaching staff can do that. In fact, a faster, younger guy might fit better in that role for us.
Anti harden think its wild for folks to believe that Harden at 34 is still head and shoulder over the likes of Brooks and fvv. Man still is anybody thinking otherwise is quite delusional. There's a reason why folks believe signing harden to take us to playoff is short sighted and crickets/uncertainity about our playoff chances with the likes of fvv and brooks. We been hearing for years that harden game age well and he has been consistently putting all star like numbers with whoever plays with. Full stop. Now all of a sudden money is a huge concern, which is valid but it's absolute coping to believe that overpaying fvv and the likes of brooks Is better than Harden. Folks also has to used common sense is that if we signed Harden, we would not have wasted 20 mil on a nobody like brooks. No star is looking to recruit brooks to compete, we overpaid for him for some stupid reason. Hell it even more wild that in a hypothetical situation where Harden is paid less there are folks on here that would still prefer to sign fvv and brooks bc they are "better". Its one thing to hate harden for the way he left us, but folks who never got over it and ridicule others who Still think harden is better than the two we just signed is just being weird.
You are correct, he is a better assist guy even still...but if he doesn't find the fountain of youth, it's evident he's in decline. 3 per difference isn't what I would call "solar" difference, but I gave him the edge there so it's a matter of opinion the true spread between their value. Is James Harden more valuable all years prior? Heeeeeeeeeeeeell yes, but it's not prior anymore...for the current roster, I'm good with FVV
You know, the same thing was said about Chris Paul (38 years old currently) when we signed , yet outside of injury, he was still highly effective compared and able to setup teammates. I think Harden's game will age like Paul's, especially since he added the mid-range back to his game. He will not be the player he used to be but still worth every penny, and superior to FVV and Brooks put together. It seems to me you guys look like your emotional loathing to Harden is blinding you to the possibility of him still being a player worth a large contract over the next 3 to 4 years, even more so as he has already settled into a PG role more than a scorer. I guess time will tell if he will be more like Lebron/CP3, or whether he will steeply decline.
I think he did not even mean that. There was no 2nd Apron when Chris Paul signed all those contracts, now teams are 3x more cautious than before if you will. Teams have to think really hard before they add any million to a contract now. I also think Chris Paul's former role as the president of the Players association has a lot to do why people think so highly of him never mind his 2nd round exits.
Him requesting trades every 1 or 2 years is destroying his reputation.........no matter how good or bad he is. Teams cannot plan ahead accordingly long term.
I understand the financial caution and why CP3 has the respect he has around the league. I also understand why people hate Harden due to his exit, continuous trade requests, love of strippers, ring chasing, etc. I'm talking about who is better over the next 3-4 years on the basketball court in comparison to FVV and Brooks (mind you, I believe we could have gotten Harden and Brooks). Simply put, Harden blows them out of the water in talent and ability and I believe will continue to do so over the next 3 years at least. No one else would have paid FVV that ridiculous max contract and we were largely ridiculed for it. Brooks is a great defensive player but let's not talk like 20 million per year is a great contract for him either. I honestly don't see how anyone could reason FVV and Brooks over Harden (and potentially Brooks as well) on the court for at least the next 3 years.
I truly get the wariness and caution to signing harden to a max but when u have folks championing, praising and celebrating that signing the likes of fvv and brooks was a better Decision just to avoid signing harden, that's just straight up coping in my eyes. Only due to past history with harden would folks think like this. Call me short sighted and what not but in no world is the likes of overpaying fvv and brooks better than overpaying for harden. Folks point to the empty market for harden, but u can look it the other way who was going to actually sign fvv and brooks to that much money? In the end what's done is done, I just find it weird that folks that still believe harden is still a good player is being ridiculed by the folks who never got over the break up and is coping to the likes of fvv and brooks.
Also what I stated, I could say Harden is better if that makes you feel better and it would be an honest take. The point is NBA teams have to think about their future....it is not that simple.
You know that I am neither a Harden fan nor a Jalen Green fan. We had our discussions. I honestly do not like the FVV and Brooks deals but I tolerate them because of the "culture repair". That said, I still would not be talked into blindly following Stone and Ime.
I respect that opinion. I also believe a 3 year large contract for Harden over the next 3 years is not a huge problem, look at Chris Paul once again. Only the Rockets traded him for a negative, since then every other trade for Paul has yielded a positive return for the team trading him.
Not wanting to get Harden for me has nothing to do with money or his skill. I believe he is the best player that was available and I do believe we had the best chance to make the playoffs with him. One thing I was cautious about were the years he would demand. I do believe he is in a downward trend. But the big reason I didn't want him is, because I believe he would be bad for the developemnt of our young pieces. He is ball dominant - he is almost the definition of being ball dominant. But he was the assist leader you say? Yes, he gets a lot of assists, but those are one pass assists. You don't get ball movement with him, you get him setting up single guys and they score. I don't believe that can be a future model for us. FVV is a ball mover. Yes, he also plays hero ball and is inefficient, but overall he is a much more willing passer than Harden, when the guys he is passing to needs to make at least one more pass for a good look.
That's a legit point as well, and probably the best argument for not signing Harden over FVV. I don't quite agree with the part of developing our young pieces but his style is definitely something that can be taken into account.
Chris Paul? The guy who has a career 3.95 Assist to TO ratio? The same guy who has one of the highest basketball IQs of all time and took a projected bottom 3 Thunder team to the playoffs and the verge of eliminating a way more talented Harden led Rockets team? The same CP3 that has led every team he’s been on to franchise best records sans aforementioned OKC who had no business making the playoffs? The same guy who sacrificed his diet and went plant-based to lose weight and prolong his career? What changes has Harden made? What has he sacrificed? Harden the same bum that was on the first flight out to Paris with Da lil baby after getting eliminated with a bad hammy. A hammy that lingered for 2 years cause he didn’t take care of his body and get the proper rest, rehab and recovery. The same loser that flies out halfway across the country to shady Vegas spots and is doing weird shiit at 1:30 AM during the middle of a playoff series. I know Paul has had his own struggles in the playoffs but the 2 are not the same. Not even close. You keep claiming to be objective and not have any emotional feelings or opinions attached when it comes to Harden. Fact of the matter is he’s older, more injury prone, is still as distracted as ever with off court activities and talks a big game yet comes up short time and time again. Everybody that knows …. knows that he’s looking for 1 final big bag and then he’ll mail it in for good. He ain’t foolin nobody no more. The people that were smart were on to his BS many years ago. It should speak volumes even when his biggest enabler Morey finally saw the light and decided to cut him off. You can argue or try to sound compelling as much as you want about Harden being a better fit than FVV… he’s not btw. Not even close. I digress though. You won’t ever have to worry about FVV staying up all night on a bender and skipping practice “cause rappers was in town yo”. What you can expect is teaching our young guys about hard work, perseverance, going from undrafted to being a starter in the league and what it takes to actually win a championship.
Why did you forget to mention the same CP3 who has shrunk (choked) plenty times in the postseason? Maybe you did mention it and I missed it thru all the clutter Or maybe you think CP3 is a flawless postseason PointGod and never came up short in the playoffs, let me know when you get a moment
I do not even know how he shows up this season because of all the off the court issues that he got. That is why I said he should take some time off and be with his mom. Basketball is great but it should not be No. 1 forever.
Haha okay. Literally almost any metric we have if not all agrees with me but alright. I already said that Brooks was a better on-ball defender. But if we didn't sign him it would probably be a combination of Eason, Jabari and Tate.
Almost there! Brooks is tasked to guard superstars and existing defensive metrics will reflect that. Meanwhile KMJ is like 4th in line for these types of assignments and still generally considered a meh defender. Brooks isn’t just a better on-ball defender, he is a far superior defender period.
