Making it between Harden or Porter Junior is sick, man. One is an MVP who bled for us for 8 seasons and definitely has issues, who had one owner who would rather have died than dip into the luxury tax to surround him with a better team, and another who immediately dealt CP3, after we finally got a great PG, for Russ "Looney Tunes" Westbrook, like the chump he is, and I don't care if Harden liked Chris Paul or not, it's not his call. Doing that led directly to Morey and Harden hauling ass, in my humble opinion. The other is an idiot who IS NOT A POINT GUARD. We're supposed to pick between those two? I don't need a gun to my head to figure out which is vastly better than the other. That doesn't mean that it's a choice I want to make.
If he comes here, cool. I rather see him win a ring though. Don't think he gets one here. He left, because the team then was no longer contenders right? So why would he come back to this current team, who are nowhere near contenders? I mean it would be very admirable of him if he came and did the yeoman's work to help these guys learn to win instead of being selfish and chasing a ring for himself.
On the pace thing, Silas in year 1 and 2, did try to play with pace. We ended up as highest TO team in the league. >20 TOs was normal for us. For the record, I'm not against playing faster but even the Nash phoenix days half court sets was still something > 60%. Most plays are half court sets. If a coach were to tweak the team's pace slider it could be something like 5% (fast break) / 95% (half court), to something like 20%(fast) vs 80% (norma). Halfcourt is still the majority of pace among NBA teams. Playing fast also depends on other things like getting stops and having good cardio. The kids need to learn how to play in the half court. Only relying athleticism for highlight dunks/lobs is very short-sighted. Doesn't have to be Harden (although it would be nice), but we need a competent PG to table set the team. Because truthfully, if Green, Jabari don't look good next to someone who can set them up, then they don't deserve the next rookie / max. What I don't want is when it's time to extend, GM Stone and the fanbase still have many lingering questions on the potential of the young guys. If they're not good (at least league average) next to a legit future HoF PG, then they don't deserve to be part of the core. Harden can be a bridge.... in the next few years to get us from bottom tier to mid tier. By the time Green/Bari/Sengun are 4-5 years in, Harden could be retiring for all we know. So Harden's playoff choking/non-choking matters less to me; because goal next few years is to be mid. (rd 1 exists). Deep playoff runs are years away... by the time Rockets get there... it's likely a different point guard.
You say a bunch of people aren't worth reasoning with and then you just ignore 10 years of playoff letdown. How do you envision this conversation going well?
I want him back. At the right price. This team isn’t trying to compete for rings in the next two years. We’re just trying to make the playin. Harden helps with that.
Since harden has proven to get teams there over and over, that part goes pretty well and literally the main reason folks are advocating for him to return this summer. Oh and not to mention the pg position is the biggest black hole of need
I was rooting for Philly, back of our mind (odds wise), think most people thought Celtics was going to win. The fact they were able to push to a game 7, was already surprising.. including the BOS fans. Philly was 54-28 this year. Embid finally got his MVP, after Harden joined his team. The key not to forget is, our team is really bad. Positionally speaking for the starters, most our guys rank 28th - 30th among the NBA 30 teams. A good number of team's 6th / 7th guy, is probably the best player on this Rockets team of starters. It's a long way back to just being average. A legit PG is not just an upgrade at the PG position, it's supposed to give synergy and elevate the young guys in the other positions.
Knew this was coming It's whatever. If you think signing a 34yo Harden has any chance whatsoever of bringing us a championship, you're a fool. But if you think this team without Harden has any chance whatsoever of winning a championship in the next 2 years, you're also a fool. Seems to me most people agree he would make us better in the regular season, at least in the short term. The main divide seems to be between people thinking he would be good for the development of the young players by giving them a real point guard to play off of, while others think he would be bad for their development by teaching them bad habits and attitudes on and off the court. I don't fall firmly in either camp, personally. I'm ambivalent/undecided. But I do think signing him to a 4 year max deal would be stupid, and I hope the organization doesn't even consider that.
If the rockets sign nobody and don't draft wemby (i think scoot would take some time before being really good) you're looking at a team where the ceiling is maybe 28 wins? 30 if you have a kings type run (fewest missed games and most missed games from opponents). Harden would at least win 30 games (assuming he plays at least 65ish) so we're not giving away as high of a pick, but also who cares? That pick is a sunk cost, if it's 5 or 10 does it really matter. I'm against a 4 year max, he's going into his 15th season, but something like 3/100 i'm up for.
His playoffs performances are downright horrific but regular season under the right price tag he can help the kids progress.
Its not about the sunk cost. This upcoming year starts our upward trajectory towards the playoffs. Without a player like Harden, we will have multiple years of 30 - 35 - 40 win seasons, where maybe in a few years we finally make the playoffs. Those are "Dead" years which people will excuse because we are "learning" or developing". Most other teams can stomach those years, because they get decent draft capital to help them grow. We don't have that luxury. Adding Harden immediately pushes you into the play in conversation, its skips those dead years. It puts you as a destination for trades or free agents.
Ya i totally agree, we're gonna suck again without him, he would be BY FAR the best player on the team
