[What if?] How do you build the team to compete if Harden agrees to come back this summer?

New Coach

Harden
Jalen
Jabari
Wemby/Walker/Miller
Sengun

KPJ, Tari, JST, JC,Garuba, TyTy, Vet FA, Vet FA, 2023 Pick 2

 

If you get the wemby pick and you want to immediately compete you could do something like wemby for sga and 7-8 firsts, then 3-4 firsts for AD, and that still leaves a decent amount to trade for one more guy

 

Close down every strip club in Houston and sign Bobby Brown for friend support.

 

Did you see the Philadelphia game a week ago?

Nobody is coming back to this ****.

 

I think Harden would force management into flipping the young guys for another star. Question is who. I'm gonna guess Dame

 

I'm gonna guess that's wrong

 

Sign Harden. Trade Nets’ picks for Bridges.

Assuming Wemby

Harden/KPJ/Tyty
Green/KPJ/JC
Bridges/Tari/Jabari
Wemby/Jabari/Bridges/Tari
Sengun/Jabari/Wemby

Assuming Scoot

Harden/Scoot/Tyty
Green/KPJ/Scoot
Bridges/Tari/Jabari
Jabari/Bridges/Tari
Sengun/Jabari

Assuming Miller

Harden/KPJ/Tyty
Green/KPJ/JC
Bridges/Tari/Miller
Jabari/Tari/Miller
Sengun/Jabari

Of course, there might be a few other traded for vets that fit in there somewhere.

 

Someone mentioned trading this years # 1 and more for Dame. Harden, Lillard, Sengun, Green and Jabari would be fun to watch but the latter 3 need a few more years before they hit their primes. By that time Harden and Dame would likely be circling the drain. It could work but you are one injury away from a first round exit.

What I would do is package up the BKN picks and guys like KPJ, KMJ, Garuba, Jaygup, etc. to Chicago for LaVine. Possibly for KAT or Trae Young if those situations deteriorate.

Harden
Green
LaVine
Smith
Wemby

Lillard
Green
Harden
Smith
Sengun

Would be interesting.

 

Harden is just doing this to leverage Philly for more money. Harden is not and should not come back here. We cant provide the team for him and he's no longer a number 1(and honestly he's getting close to a third option scoring wise) player on a championship team.

There is nothing either sides can do for each other at this point.

 

That would be really interesting, because this team wouldn't be able to get a single defensive stop all game. So it would be interesting to see if we could win while giving up 200 points per game.

 

Frame Tilman Fertitta for a felony so he has to sell the team.
Fire Stone.
Fire Silas.
Trade most of the current roster for veterans capable of their positions.
Pair Wemby or Scoot with Harden.

 

If Harden returns, you have to throw a bag at few 3 and D players like it's 2018 again.

Guys likely to get moved:
KJ
Tate
Garuba
KPJ

They're all contracts that are easy to move.

The difficult part is that none of us really know who is available. We know potential free agents, but I have a feeling a lot of what we can do is through trades. Even with James + Scoot/Wemby, I'm not sure people are going to choose us as a free agent destination.

If James really wants to be here, you can't say no. You have to try to compete in his 1-3 year window, so you move young guys and draft capital to get him whatever help you can. I'm not sure it's the best outcome for our organization, but you just can't say no to the second best player in franchise history.

 

Dame's contract guarantees him $58M and $63M at age 34 and 35. Nobody's going to be trading for Dame.

 

Thing is, Dame's contract and age is specifically why he has the best chance among all the superstars of being traded. No one is going to give up a Giannis, Luka, Jokic, etc.

 

This situation is crazy. It's something that I don't think can be built or fixed.

 

BTW, If the Rockets get the #1 overall pick, they could potentially trade for not one but TWO superstars while signing James Harden to a max.

 

well there's that . . . .

 

Need to wait until political season to find the right DA willing to prosecute Tillman if you get them into office.

 

Quinn Snyder
Abdellfatah as Associate OC

Harden in FA (3 years 96 million)
Draymond in FA (3 years 84 million)

Honcho, Tate, Christopher+Brooklyn future for Bridges and Claxton.

#3 is Brandon Miller.


Sengun/Claxton/Garuba
Green/Smith
Eason/Miller
Bridges/Green
Harden/Washington