Like I said before the Rockets already have a second star, that is Eric Gordon. They need a third star.
The cohesive and chemistry between Harden and Gordon is simply amazing. Harden knows when he is off he can dump it to Eric and let him go to work which they did tonight. There is a certain trust and understanding between those two. Almost like they've played together for years. I venture to guess most of Hardens assists have come from finding Eric and Clint this season.
Marc Gasol comes to mind as a great fit, and Paul George would be very good too in terms of a star player, but even getting someone like Mirza Teletovic or Ersan Ilyasova would be a good short term move for bench depth as a stretch 4.
It's gotta be DeAndre Jordan. He is the only impact starter I can think of where we wouldn't have to change a single thing about our style of play. We don't need another star we need pieces that fit. At the end of the day there is only one ball. He protects the rim without fouling. He dominates the boards. Most importantly, he stays on the court: he's durable, he avoids silly fouls, and can handle 30+ mpg. He is averaging about 12pts and 13 rebounds per game in 32 minutes with a ridiculous 1.723 points per shot. Sadly the Clippers offense only gets him about 7 attempts/game in those 32 minutes. Compare that to Clint who is putting up 12 and 8 in 24 minutes with 1.4 points per shot. With 8.5 field goal attempts in 24.5 minutes. Imagine 32 minutes of DeAndre Jordan getting the same looks as Harrell and Clint. He would probably average 18/game playing with us. I would gladly give up Clint (who we have to pay soon anyways) and two future 1st for DJ. Hopefully the Clippers decide to blow it up this summer and we can pry him loose.
You know what, Im not a huge fan of diandre, but he will fit the best in this team as currently constructed. However he is not a second star to a championship team. I would like our chances better with Paul George and Capela, than our chances with just Diandre next to Harden. Now if we could get both of them, I would give up on Capela and Anderson on a heart beat.
I don't know if there is a star that is in any way realistic to get. If your just dreaming then Lebron, Davis, Griffin, Leonard and Thompson all would look great. As for realistic acquisitions, if Atlanta is looking to dump Kyle Korver then he would look great coming off the bench for even more shooting.
Without a doubt, it's Anthony Davis. I don't think he falls under the category of misaligned quite yet, but I don't know how much longer he will want to lose down in NOLA. However, if he was somehow obtainable in the near future (even if we have to wait and it's through free agency), I think he would be a perfect compliment to James Harden. They are both incredibly agile and ultra talented. Davis would not only run the PnR with Harden as well or better than Dwight or Capela, but he would also be a formidable force on defense to couple with Bev and Ariza on the perimeter...this would lead to better opportunities on offense. Oh, and if you thought Nash to Stoudemire was incredible, imagine Harden and Davis in D'Antoni's system with role players and shooters already in place. The marketing would do itself, you'd have The Beard and The Brow. You'd have 2 of the top 5 players in the league at complementary positions to each other and also both in their prime. AD has range all the way out to the 3 point line and beyond, so opposing defenses would have to respect that...not to mention his athleticism and ability to run the floor. We would also have a tremendous small line-up when needed, with AD at center. He is extremely versatile.
True. I just think he's the only allstar quality player we could get without gutting our roster in a trade. Unless we grab someone like Gay or Gallinari, and Harden does his best "Dream" impersonation and carries us to the promised land.
That is one part of the problem. It was continuity based on a bit of a fluke run in the playoffs. Stopped upgrading.