2023-24 Team Developments: Trades / Free Agents / News / Rumors / Ideas

James Harden can ball..like him or not...fat or not. He won't be fat all season, if he lands on the Heat or Clippers...those teams just got better. I don't care for his style of play, but he is still very far removed, from being considered to be some kind of scrub.

 

He absolutely can put up numbers...that contribute zero to winning basketball. And in the process, he's going to become discontent within a couple years...after he strips your team of assets and then pout, whine, and distracts until he gets his way and gets to go hold another team hostage.

No thank you. I'd take JHS over Harden.

 

Nah. He has to be contributing to winning basketball, he's been in the playoffs, as a major impact player, for most of his career. At this point of his career, he only has a couple years, of high end caliber hooping, left in him IMO. His next stop will get the best of what he has left in the tank. He will make the Flippers or Heat better than they are right now. Personal feelings about him aside.

If JHS ever got as good as James Harden, we struck pure platinum. The Beard is Hall of Fame bound.

 

IF the heat and clippers give up the junk they want to give up (lowry from miami, morris/batum/covington from the clips), then yes. if either team gives up a rotation player (herro or mann), i'm not sure they really improve that much. the clips would have to create a defense that could simultaneously cover for harden AND westbrook. it's never been done.

 

Welp...OKC did get to the Finals correct?

Anyway Defense..yeah.. IDK..we had the best defense in the West in the playoffs...got swept by the best offense. The team coming out of the West this season, is going to be an offensive power too. Not saying that a great defense is irrelevant, but it's not the absolute must have, it's being made out to be.

Just stay away from the Flippers, is all Im asking. He's a better player than Mann or Herro IMO. I'd rather see him go to Miami or stay in the East period. He going to be motivated wherever he lands, and motivated players with that level of talent, make a difference.

 

Darko Rajakovic builds “basketball in half a second” in Toronto: the player must know what he will do next immediately after receiving the ball

For example, Pascal Siakam spent 3.62 seconds on each touch last season, Fred VanVleet - 4.84 seconds, and Luka Doncic 6.12 seconds (the most in the league).
Is it a new D'Antony 7 seconds or less ?

 

While playing for MDA.

This isn't 1996, you can't open up a box score to a newspaper and extrapolate all your opinions and data from that. And it's not NBA2K either. There's not a more artificial inflator to numbers in the history of the game than MDA and his gimmick offense.

And there's zero case to make for him since forcing his way out of Houston.

I'll put it this way, Clippers would've concerned me if they landed Holiday. I pray they land Harden because it's going to blow up in their face and it's going to be a great train wreck to watch.

Harden doesn't play D. He cares more about stat chasing than engaging on that end. In recent years, he's focused his attentions on flying around the world with his rapper friend and living in the strip clubs. Butler lost his s*** in Minny and Philly because they weren't serious enough with their competitive energy and focus. What do you think he'd do to Harden?

And the JHS > Harden is much less for career retrospective reasons (don't think JHS will reach those individual accolades) and is based on: salary, assets he'll strip you of coming and going, the limitations he puts on you stylistically and that he doesn't defend.

Fit matters. There's still only one basketball.

Same thing was said when he went to Brooklyn and Philly. So that's a load of crock.

 

In Russ and Beard’s absolute prime physically and MENTALLY to do the hard work to play “defense” properly? With KD on the team?

 

@ JSM..You have a personal dislike for James Harden. That's Cool...You also have an annoying habit, of trying to lecture me about the game of basketball, when I disagree with some of your opinions. FOH with that BS tho... I understand the game just fine..your opinions are yours, I don't have to agree with any of them.

Back on topic..Harden was a key piece on the OKC team that went to Finals.
He was the number 1 guy in Houston, that was a CP3 blown hammy, away from the Finals.
MDA remains an idiot for thinking that a starting 5, of 6'7 and under guys, would beat Lebron and AD in a 7 game series IMO. He got canned.

KD recruited him to Brooklyn, didn't seem like Kyrie was consulted on that idea. It all blew up due to injuries...and all 3 got the hell out of Brooklyn.

Nobody has been able to make it work with Embiid to date...somehow...his disappearing act in crunch time, doesn't get noticed for some reason. HE might actually be a part of the problem...you think?

Harden doesn't defend..shrug..he defends when he's motivated..Lebron and KD do too. He's not as good as they are..but he's better than the players mentioned in a trade for him currently. The Beard would elevate either team IMO. If he gets traded to either, this will just be another case study, for us to find out if you actually know WTF your talking about. Or if your gift is more about posting links and other people's opinions.

 

Was it more about that team's defense or offense that season?.

 

f*** Harden: if he didn't go to Brooklyn, Lebron and AD wouldn't have freaked out and pushed for the Westbrook move. Wasted almost 2 years of this era due to that.

 

Wasted 2 years of this era, due mostly to injuries to Lebron and AD. We can't forget that part either. I like where we are now though ..but we weren't going to win anything, with James and Davis in street clothes

 

Well I thought your reply was to illustrate they “could” play defense. If the opposite, then yeah having both those dudes having to be schemed to cover their “all aspects considered” s****y defense is a huge problem. Not to mention Russ’s serious still aspirational leader role toward team success vs Beard’s strong all about me tendencies. They clashed in Houston over that …. did they not?

 

Yes..They clashed in Houston over Russ feeling like James wasn't being professional enough, about how he carried himself in the organization. True friends can call each other out like that. James did what he wanted to anyway,

Westbrook is a bit wierd...he has this wild, chaotic, undisciplined persona on the court. Yet he is known to be a stickler for protocol and being punctual off the court.
James is the definition of a Cali laid back type of dude. Funny they are still good friends, I guess opposites do attract.

Off topic..I was hoping that Russ and Kawhi would be a big clash...Kawhi notoriously doesn't care much for protocol and punctuality either. It never materialized..at least not yet.

 

Yes. I hate lazy players. I hate those who cheapen the game with their antics and in game theatrics. His foul hunting isn't basketball. I hate players who are hot trash when they're not bailed out by 3 refs and when the refs were serious about those calls, for all of 3 months, Harden was pedestrian.

I hate how easily some people are fooled and tricked by numbers and can't contextualize the data. Instead they fall for the trap.

Listening to you ramble about lecturing, opinions and facts is outright comical after we spent what felt like an eternity with your Russ takes, the fluid facts, the goal post moving and how proud you were to have seen basketball since it's inception. There's some pot meet kettle situation at play there.

My opinion is numbers trick you. The through line between Russ and Harden and your stance on them really give weight to that belief.

Fascinating what can happen when you have 3 future Hall of Famers before they get P-A-I-D. That's a one in a million scenario. OKC is still trying to sell the season ticket holders that they can strike gold again with the dozens of picks they are hoarding.

Injuries are part of the game. He didn't get there did he? If we're counting imaginary victories now, Lakers at least have two more rings because we're erasing Injuries. Malone in 04 and AD in the Suns series could've resulting in us coming out the west and winning a 'ship.

Brooklyn was Injuries, covid, personalities not meshing, ownership, coaching. A lot went wrong there.

Yes, Embiid does have to look in the mirror. I think Morey is garbage and they've had coaching issues there too.

BUT... if you have three consecutive stops and issues at each one. There's one constant amongst all those variables. Harden.

On paper without context, yes. He is better than Herro and better than Mann. The only thing paper beats is rock. Is he better than those players + the draft picks they'll give up and the watered down return they'll get for him when he wants to move on from that city? No. He's not.

Flag it all, I welcome it. We all learned last season where you fall on that spectrum. Might want to do some scrubbing or just continue to deny reality and facts... whichever you're more comfortable with.

If it's in your way, there's an option to where you don't have to see posts by a particular poster. You've actually said twice you were using that on me and yet... magically you still manage to respond.

I like to share things I find interesting that can generate discussion and conversation. In several cases, if it's someone's work I enjoy, I like doing my tiny part in steering more traffic there way... even if it's +5 views. It's a much more enjoyable message board back-and-forth vs. arguing with a brick wall over fraudulent "superstars."

 

MEH..You just posted another 8 paragraph diatribe of you personal opinions, stated as if they are somehow FACTS.

Westbrook isn't here, you can't continually fall back on that Westbrook yap, everytime I challenge some of the opinions you put out. I said Russ only worked here, if Lebron and AD were healthy. They played 44 games together total, never played more than 7 straight games together., and went 22-22. Those numbers are real.

Back on topic...So..it was a fluke in OKC. OK
Houston injuries happen..OK
Brooklyn..injuries happen. Ok
Philadelphia..Embiid needs to look in the mirror and Morrey is garbage, coaching issues OK.

Yet this must mean that it's somehow James Harden's fault, because these things occurred? He was the common denominator? I don't follow you logic at all on that take. So what exactly did he do to cause said issues?

Lol ..yeah paper beats rocks, and water is also wet. Now you presume to KNOW that these two teams, are going to give up too much for a guy that 1. Won't be any good, since he's watered down as you say 2. Will want to move on in a couple of years anyway.
Yet these two teams in question, are going to be bamboozled by his fake stats, just like Ole Slick right,? OK..now Slick is just a Joe Blow Lakers fan, but these professionals at these two franchises, must be just as clueless as Ole Slick ,if they trade for James Harden? OK duly noted.

Perhaps Riles, and the Flippers braintrust, are spending too much time playing NBA2K, or browsing box scores too huh?

Bah..you are just flailing around trying to rebutt everything, because you simply don't like the guy IMO.

I'm always here..I don't hide..I said what I said...Again.. I don't think you know WTF you are talking about here. Just like it will be impossible for the Suns to field a decent roster, Wood is not a winning player, and will be unplayable in the playoffs, because the internet says so. We shall see.

I have no use for blocking anyone, that's candy a** IMO. So we will see what actually happens..that's the beauty of live sports. The games will be played, and we'll find out who ends up being " right" here soon enough. I look forward to this sidebar as the season progresses.

For the record..what we learned last season, is that if Lebron and AD are healthy, and playing together. The Lakers are a legit title contender. The same thing we learned in their first season together.
If they aren't, we aren't..that much has been proven too.

Well ..you posted and you got some feedback...lol..you didn't like the feedback. Get over yourself dude. I guess it's a much more agreeable conversation if someone agrees with your take. You take it personal, I actually Ike that..it definitely means that you are paying attention to Slick’s opinions.

 

LOL …. right … been absolutely nothing wrong with good ole team guy James Harden for the past several years or his piss ugly cheating, flopping approach on offense. Houston was going to give him a max offer this year until he laid out his goal was to win a scoring championship. Ehhhh … nope …. see ya!! Another Russ type devil’s advocate opinion to fight for. Sure if they all stay healthy, and Russ and Harden bust a** with good man and TEAM defense and the built in excuse of Snake and Paula not playing enough games together “doesn’t happen” …. Harden to the Clips will be awesome for them. A bunch of big IFs.

 

Shrug..I have no idea what will happen, until it actually happens. I don't want to see Harden with the Flippers though period. We can't seem to beat them as is. I don't want to see the Hyena succeed in any fashion.

I'm not advocating for his legacy...he's already headed to the Hall Of Fame. That's including every single negative thing said about him. Stay in the East!

 

I thought that was Westbrook lol