(Woj) Harden turned down $50 million a year extension wants to be traded to Nets

I've never been a big harden fan, but it's a crime if the rockets trade harden to the nets for lavert etc.

Maybe it's early, but I'm a bit surprise at the lack of good offers for Harden being floated.

 

Better be 3rd team

 

Unless a bigger move comes after

 

In the latest Ringer NBA podcast, KOC mentions that he's been told by people that Tilman Fertitta won't trade Harden to Morey even though Morey will offer more than just Ben Simmons in the Harden trade

around the 30 min mark
https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aH...YCahcKEwjwh6WZsYrtAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQHg&hl=en-CA

 

ARE YOU SERIOUS YOU PIECE OF GARBAGE

 

Lol if anyone actually believes this Tilman propaganda. Dudes shedding debt because he's so upside down from COVID.

He might not survive. Which would be great.

 

Hard to get good offers right now when everyone thinks you HAVE to trade him.

 

it's a really bad time to be a rockets fan. i've never been a huge Harden fan, but i've put up with his moodiness and playoff lapses because he's truly an exceptional player. But i never bought into Morey's philosophy of star-chasing or catering to stars in a way that subjugates the team. I get that the NBA is about super teams, but i still think you can do a lot with good ole' fashioned player development and building through the draft.

I'm ready for a change. Harden is making it easy to turn the page. the only thing i won't be able to get over is if we don't get back a kings ransom for our stars.

 

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/texas-sports-nation/podcast/article/Rocket-offseason-James-Harden-Russell-Westbrook-15734989

Feigen: Harden & Durant spent a lot of the Rockets offseason of discontent talking about teaming up again with the Nets and James has decided that’s what he wants to do. It’s not so much he wants to leave, it’s that he wants to go there. It’s not like “Oh trade him to Cleveland, he’s cool with that.” He wants to be in Brooklyn with Irving and Durant and chase a championship. ... Rockets don’t want him to go anywhere. He wants to go to one place. In order to keep Harden and make him feel good long term - long term as in through the season or two remaining guaranteed years - he has to feel like he can win a championship here. If that’s unlikely, barring that, a rebuild is coming. Do they get greater return now when he want to go where he wants to go or bringing him & Westbrook back, working the phones until they get a haul that jumpstarts the rebuild. Which time is better?

BTS: Something big the Rockets could have or should have done differently the last 2 years that would have prevented this situation?

JF: They should have stuck with Chris Paul. ... To make it work, you had to change the way you play offensively and had to change your roster, moving Clint Capela. You keep Chris Paul, he found a way to stay healthy. If the Rockets knew Chris Paul would play every game, that might be enough right there to say they don’t make that deal. They’d be better with Chris Paul & Clint Capela.

BTS: If Harden wants him gone, this is why they’re in this situation now, Harden wanted him gone and he was gone.

JF: That’s a big part of it. Sometimes you have to say no to your superstar. Rafael is much more capable of saying no. Daryl and Mike did not like confrontation. Mike wanted everyone to feel confident and upbeat. Daryl was good cop and good cop. Rafael is more than willing to be the bad cop to Stephen Silas good cop when he needs to be. ... Rafael’s way, he can say no. He would be more likely than Morey to say “No, that’s too much for Westbrook.”

BTS: They’ve given Harden just about everything and he deserves it in a lot of ways but if you’re never really happy, you want more, you want it done a different way, you want it to be looser. You get Westbrook. Getting Westbrook had implications. Style of play was a question the second they got him. It didn’t really work, they trade Capela and go small. Won 65 games, maybe win the Finals if Paul stays healthy but there’s a personality conflict. I’ve been told many times when the Rockets were clicking and Chris Paul in some ways was maybe their best overall player in ‘18 when they were up 3-2 again at the Warriors, Harden didn’t really love that either. Last year between Westbrook & Harden, there was on and off tension. When Westbrook was rolling for three months, I’m not sure Harden loved that. Harden tends to pout. Harden can be passive aggressive. I don’t know if he’s never happy ultimately or if it goes on a string yes/no/yes/no. How do you make him happy now? If you put the bandaid on it for this season, are you not gonna have to rip it off in 12-18 months.

JF: If you do the big move, say you trade Russ for someone else with a similarly burden contract, many years, maybe past his prime years but the kind of guy on that star level that James says “Wow, OK I guess we do have a chance here.” and you’re not that good in a year, James wants out, you move him and you’re still stuck with the guy you got with the long contract. A lot of this is so unfair in that...I wouldn’t necessarily agree he pouts. He slumps. People say he’d have these dud games in the playoffs. Well he has duds in the regular season too. He relies on doing things the hard way. He doesn’t get easy shots. You’re gonna have some tough, bad games when relying on tough, difficult shots. Russ & James were rarely rolling at the same time. They need to do things differently if James is here to make things easier on occasion for him. And some of the things Russ doesn’t like, the coach isn’t here, the GM isn’t here anymore.

...

BTS: Is Harden on the Rockets opening night?

JF: I’m gonna surprise myself and say yes. I think they’re gonna really play it out. How about after that trade deadline? ... I wrote this in something, the way Chris Paul rehabilitated his stock around the league, why can’t Russ?

 

Apple to orange, brother.
Yes, peeps are upset with his performance in crunch games. A lot of fans would embrace the idea of trading Harden for a rebuilt.

But it has to be on the Rockets terms to assure good negotiation position. The way Harden has handled it now, especially after the WB-Trade last year, puts the Rockets in a bad situation. This is what pisses off the fans.

 

Woj:

-Rockets, especially with Harden, are looking to slow play this
-While Harden does want a trade to the Nets, there has been no contact between the Nets & Rockets for the last couple days. The initial contact that was there was not very substantive
-Rockets are not moving very quickly, if at all, towards Brooklyn
-If they are going to trade Harden, they are trying to set the tone in the marketplace for a massive return - great young player, multiple first round picks
-In the short term for them, trying to see if they can repair this relationship & get James Harden excited again about playing in Houston. It maybe a tall order but training camp doesn’t start until December and they believe they got some time to work on it.

 

THIS WHAT I LIKE TO HEAR

Stone living by his last name.

 

I hope Harden stays. I know I am being shortsighted by saying this, but I want Harden to retire a Rocket, regardless if we win a championship or not. He use to be fine with the idea as well until the idiot owner starting meddling in front office affairs. Tilman needs to have a heart to heart with James if he wants to keep him and Tilman needs to stay out of front office affairs and also open up the checkbook to actually attempt to compete. I have no faith in Tilman, so I know ultimately, Harden will just be unhappy here for now.

 

I cant believe Harden doesnt have a no trade clause.

 

There isn’t a player in the league that currently has one

 

thats crazy. i guess i just assumed all these mega stars had one.

 

Carmelo Anthony was the last contract in the NBA with a no-trade clause. Players use Trade-Kickers to control their destiny, they are free to waive them. That's the new CBA.

 

man i need to lay off the indicas. cant believe Im that lost. thanks to you guys for catching me up to speed. Yeesh.