RealTalk said:

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Harry Dunne said:

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HotardRat said:

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Ags #1 said:

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Is this a sign nobody wants to play with james? I mean they are best friends and could only make it one season

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First Take would probably love this talking point.

But it's not how real life works. Dudes in the league love James, both as a guy and as a player.

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Maybe, but dudes that play with him GTFO pretty fast.

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Can't have two alphas on the same team. One of them gotta make the sacrifice and we all know it's not going to be Harden.

I think it's more ego than anything else as to why these other dudes want to go elsewhere.

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The NBA is full of alphas. Champions put ego aside to win rings.

In the end I think the problem is lack of winnings rings more than anything else. I'm sure Harden is more fun to play with and be around than MJ or Kobe were. If guys thought they could win rings with him, they wouldn't bolt.

Texas A&M said:

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Harden isn't an Alpha. He's a me-first player without a leadership bone in his body. I'm not a fan of Westbrook, but him or Tucker is much more of a team leader than Harden.

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I agree about the leadership, but if he was not an alpha he would've submitted to CP's will.

Whether you call it being an alpha or being selfish or being strong-willed is semantics. Harden does either bend people to his will or drive them away. The problem is, like you said, he's not leading in the right direction.

As it was, under CP's leadership he just about won a ring and unfortunately I think that's as close as he's going to get as a Rocket. I don't think a team will win a championship with Harden as its leader and undisputed best player. I think he's going to have to go to an All-Star team like the Warriors or pair up with a LeBron or Durant type.

Eric Gordon was injured. When you aren't playing....other players take your minutes. You have to earn them back.

HotardRat said:

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I just don't agree with the Harden blame here at all. Westbrook and Gordon are both terrible now. Trade their asses.

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Both have **** contracts too.

HotardRat said:

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I just don't agree with the Harden blame here at all. Westbrook and Gordon are both terrible now. Trade their asses.

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Report: Several Rockets frustrated by 'problematic' star-centered culture

This is Dan Feldman, not some blog.

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Maybe Harden will look himself in the mirror and adjust his leadership style. But this far into his career, I wouldn't count on it. He has been thoroughly enabled (including by Morey, who deserves scrutiny for overseeing this chemistry mess).

New general manager Rafael Stone and coach Stephen Silas have their hands full to set a better culture

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Texas A&M said:

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Harden isn't an Alpha. He's a me-first player without a leadership bone in his body. I'm not a fan of Westbrook, but him or Tucker is much more of a team leader than Harden.

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Whether he is an alpha or not, the organization treats him like one and therein lies the problem. You created the beast and now gotta live with it.

There are some snitches on the team.

I think we all agree on that.

I wouldn't even put it past Morey to have been so public about the "Harden changed my life" and "Harden is the best ever" stuff in order to stir this up a bit and get Harden out of Houston. He knows more than anyone how combustible the situation is.

The "star" treatment is something we've heard out of Houston for a while. All of the outcasts on the Clippers basically reinforced this message when they left.

This is one of the major failures of the Morey era. While his love for analytics made him appreciate 3/D players that sacrifice (Battier/Tucker), he created a team culture that was the opposite. Instead of asking James to be a leader within the team, he allowed him to pretend to lead from afar.

I still think the trade for CP3 was the right decision and the fact that CP3 made Harden uncomfortable was a good thing. Harden needs to be uncomfortable, he is far from a perfect player and needs to change his approach to basketball. Its hard to make those necessary steps when everyone has their tongue in your rear end. Trading for Westbrook was literally the worst outcome for both his game and his personal development. They catered to him instead of forcing him to adjust.

Harden needs tough love right now. Unfortunately its probably too late. His toxic ego is probably too far cemented a this point and he will just ask for a trade.

That being said, I'd keep him and push him to be a better player. He is better than anything you will get back for him.

Every "star" is going to get special treatment. MJ, Kobe, LeBron, Curry....the list goes on and on. Those guys got rings so it's easy for their teammates to suck it up and fall in line.

Fk Kendrick Perkins. Dude is Beaumont trash.

I will say this. I defend Harden a lot, and scoff at the notion of trading the guy, but if Silas/Stone know they won't be able to extend him then they need to blow it up and get a sweet return in the process while they still can. Gonna pump the brakes a bit until we hear from Harden's camp.

Anybody consider this is Westbrook posturing for a culture change? Perhaps he tried internally, no success, so this is the second attempt.

Good post.

Unfortunately I don't think a rookie coach and a rookie GM who has been the number two guy internally are the ones to give him that tough love successfully.

I don't defend Kevin McHale as a basketball coach but I do think he tried getting James to be more of a leader in the traditional sense and Harden won that battle. I don't see it going differently with anybody else now that he's so established.

With the age of this team, the lack of draft picks, and the unlikelihood we'll get fair return value on Harden, I think we make one last run with what we have. Anything short of the finals, blow it up.

Makes no sense to go for rebuild this year. Thunder have our pick and its top 4 protected. We have our picks the next 2 years.

YNWA_AG said:

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Makes no sense to go for rebuild this year. Thunder have our pick and its top 4 protected. We have our picks the next 2 years.

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If the Rockets pick top 4, what does this pick convert to with the protection?

Guitarsoup said:

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YNWA_AG said:

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Makes no sense to go for rebuild this year. Thunder have our pick and its top 4 protected. We have our picks the next 2 years.

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If the Rockets pick top 4, what does this pick convert to with the protection?

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I think it turns into a 2nd round

M.C. Swag said:

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Guitarsoup said:

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YNWA_AG said:

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Makes no sense to go for rebuild this year. Thunder have our pick and its top 4 protected. We have our picks the next 2 years.

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If the Rockets pick top 4, what does this pick convert to with the protection?

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I think it turns into a 2nd round

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You are guaranteed a top 5 pick with the worst record. Maybe it is worth the tank if you get some good value.

Especially since it seems likely there won't be fans in the stands for some or all of the season anyway.

Three years to get three great players to rebuild with.

Cody Zeller
Malik Monk
Terry Rozier

M.C. Swag said:

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Cody Zeller
Malik Monk
Terry Rozier

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I would like some package that includes their #3 pick this year

M.C. Swag said:

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Cody Zeller
Malik Monk
Terry Rozier

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Don't forget their highest paid player, Nic Batum.

Hornets seem to have ~30mm in cap space to absorb plus Biyombo and HernandGomez.

Hornets own all their future 1st rounders but no one elses' picks. They also have lots of 2nd rounders.

The Rockets are in a bad spot, and I don't see a way to turn it around anytime soon.

Their owner, Tillman, is notorious for being a difficult person to work for or with, and is driven by the profits. That's fine, that's how he became a billionaire, but people don't enjoy working for him. It's pretty telling that Mike D'Antoni didn't desire to even discuss a new contract with Tillman. And Morey unexpectedly decided he really needed to take some time off from the NBA and resigned; then almost immediately took the GM position in Philly. So, Tillman saves money by hiring a first time GM and a first time head coach. (Although Silas seems like a pretty good hire)

Then, there's Harden... from the Report: Several Rockets frustrated by 'problematic' star-centered culture link above, I think this is spot on: "This all reflects poorly on Harden. He didn't get along well enough with stars Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and now Westbrook. Clearly, role players also have issues. It's just not that enjoyable to watch Harden dominate the ball in isolation and cover for his poor defensive effort."

This so true.... Who the heck wants to play with Harden? Anyone that's played any organized BB understands the frustration other teammates must feel by Harden's hold-the-ball offensive style and lack of effort on defense.

No doubt, Hardin is one of the best scorers in the league, but he only plays offense tenaciously. Everyone has to cover for him defensively, and for that reason, I personally don't think he's a "superstar" though he is certainly paid like one. To me, he's like Carmelo Anthony was... He can hang 50 pts on anyone, but is a lousy teammate and leader. I don't think a Harden-led team will ever win a championship.

IMO, the Rockets should blow this team up and start over.

RealTalk said:

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Every "star" is going to get special treatment. MJ, Kobe, LeBron, Curry....the list goes on and on. Those guys got rings so it's easy for their teammates to suck it up and fall in line.

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Except for Curry, those are all 2 way players and all were elite clutch performers. Performance earns star treatment. James gets the treatment of a champion without the mentality of one.

https://instagr.am/p/CHgih89D3mF

Although this was a few years ago, he hasn't improved much and still sucks at defense.

JAMES HARDEN PLAYS NO DEFENSE (HILARIOUS)