He had it before the bubble, so actually probably not Harden.Chances are, what, 90 percent, that this 'other player' is Harden. right?
View: https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1341806775654297608?s=20
He had it before the bubble, so actually probably not Harden.Chances are, what, 90 percent, that this 'other player' is Harden. right?
View: https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1341806775654297608?s=20
G League lineup for Houston on opening night? Wheeee!Chances are, what, 90 percent, that this 'other player' is Harden. right?
View: https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1341806775654297608?s=20
I agree Milwaukee and Boston are not comparable, but what does that matter to Houston. Houston wants the best possible return it can get. JRue, Davis, PG and even the Westbrook deals all included troves of picks along with the talent. The talks with Miami reportedly did not progress, because Miami's priors deals substantially limit how much draft pick compensation can be included.I couldn't disagree more with this part. Milwaukee would have offered the owner's firstborn and two randomly selected front office kidneys in order to close any GFIN deal that would convince Giannis to sign on the dotted line. And he did. The situations couldn't be more different. Danny is sitting on two under 25, top-30ish players.
Without a bubble and NBA players traveling from city to city I want to find a prop to bet that this season will be interrupted at some point soon. I’ll go with January 22nd as my somewhat educated guess.Chances are, what, 90 percent, that this 'other player' is Harden. right?
View: https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1341806775654297608?s=20
That was unconfirmed soeculation, correct? It’s definitely possible. But there was video of him training outside the bubble during that time period so it’s also possible that it was just a diva move to spend as little time as possible in the bubble. Given what we’ve recently learned about Harden’s control over the team, it’s even more likely.He had it before the bubble, so actually probably not Harden.
I agree with everything in this post.I agree Milwaukee and Boston are not comparable, but what does that matter to Houston. Houston wants the best possible return it can get. JRue, Davis, PG and even the Westbrook deals all included troves of picks along with the talent. The talks with Miami reportedly did not progress, because Miami's priors deals substantially limit how much draft pick compensation can be included.
If Danny is not willing to include several picks (and I agree he should not), then there are several teams that can beat a Jaylen centric offer:
Philly: Simons and a pick or two
Nets: Levert etc and ALL the picks
Denver: MPJ and most of the picks.
Jaylen is my favorite Celtic and I hope he stays put. But I accept his limitations. He is not a playmaker. He's an awesome #2 guy. He is not well suited to be the fulcrum of an offense. Where does a Jaylen and Wall led team fit in the West's pecking order?
If I am Houston the picks are the key (since theirs are spoken 2024-2026). If Houston is going to be rebuild through the draft they need to suck they next two years or get another teams picks for those out years.
The Jrue deal didn't involve any real talent going back to NO. Bledsoe and Hill are fine players, but they were basically just the needed salary. So while HOU may want a huge haul of picks, if any of the offers include Jaylen Brown, or Ben Simmons, or Paskal Siakam, tI doubt they are getting a haul of picks on top of those players.I agree Milwaukee and Boston are not comparable, but what does that matter to Houston. Houston wants the best possible return it can get. JRue, Davis, PG and even the Westbrook deals all included troves of picks along with the talent.
NO didn't get that big a haul of picks either. 2 1st round picks and 2 swaps. Barring some bad injury luck for the Bucks, those are 2 late 1st round picks and 2 swaps that never get used.The Jrue deal didn't involve any real talent going back to NO. Bledsoe and Hill are fine players, but they were basically just the needed salary. So while HOU may want a huge haul of picks, if any of the offers include Jaylen Brown, or Ben Simmons, or Paskal Siakam, tI doubt they are getting a haul of picks on top of those players.
We know that now, but at the time they had to balance giving away those picks against the very real possibility that Giannis would leave, changing those picks from mid-late 20s to early to mid-level lottery picks. Those picks were substantially more valuable when the trade was made than they are right now.NO didn't get that big a haul of picks either. 2 1st round picks and 2 swaps. Barring some bad injury luck for the Bucks, those are 2 late 1st round picks and 2 swaps that never get used.
Harden at 31 is 2 years older than Kawhi and 4 years older than AD. I agree with your point about body type and style aging relatively gracefully, but he’s not exactly taking care of himself. He’s going to be such a liability on defense at 34 that it’s hard for me to envision him being more valuable than those guys.The Ringer ranked the NBA best young (under 25) cores, and the Celtics were #1:
https://www.theringer.com/nba/2020/12/23/22196239/nba-2020-21-young-core-rankings-celtics-grizzlies-sixers
They based their rankings on 538's player projections over the last 5 years. The whole article is a fun read (if you like seeing the Celtics in the top spot), but in the section on the Mavs they posted the list of the projected best players in the league over the next 5 seasons. The idea was to show that Luka is #1 amongst all players (not just those under 25), but I found it interesting that 31 year old James Harden is #2 on their list of the best players over the next 5 years. I have a pretty low opinion of 538's player rankings (and team rankings) generally, but Harden does seem to have the body and style of a player who should remain elite for at least the next handful of seasons.
FWIW the next 3 guys on the list are Jokic (25), Tatum (22) and Giannis (26).
Four years in a row of controlling another's teams draft is pretty friggin big. And here is the key detail: it is the 2024, 2025, 2026 and 2027 drafts. No one, including the Bucks front office, has any idea whatsoever as to what kind of team Milwaukee is going to have 5 seasons from now.NO didn't get that big a haul of picks either. 2 1st round picks and 2 swaps. Barring some bad injury luck for the Bucks, those are 2 late 1st round picks and 2 swaps that never get used.
This was an enjoyable listen, thanks for the suggestion. Link here:The new Matt Barnes/Stephen Jackson All The Smoke podcast with Rondo is a must listen imo. He will be a coach in the league very soon after he retires if he so chooses. I will spoiler a small nugget and share that he went to Atlanta for family reasons.
Thank you for the link. What is fascinating about this is how these three are students of the game and what they choose to focus on. Furthermore, its all very candid which I love - Stan Van Gundy gets some small shade in this one - but also something you would expect from Barnes, Jackson and Rondo.This was an enjoyable listen, thanks for the suggestion. Link here:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASDmhdg3Sy0
Rockets are a dumpster fire.
To add onto that: the real killer of these "take all our future drafts" deals is that they make it really hard to add pieces via trade. That in turn makes your guy more of a flight risk as the years go on, which then increases the value of the picks. It's a positive feedback loop.Four years in a row of controlling another's teams draft is pretty friggin big. And here is the key detail: it is the 2024, 2025, 2026 and 2027 drafts. No one, including the Bucks front office, has any idea whatsoever as to what kind of team Milwaukee is going to have 5 seasons from now.
Portland has nothing to offer. Seems like Harden is basically telling Houston that he’ll go to basically any team that doesn’t suck.
Someone on reddit said Portland has the most strip clubs per capita of any major US city. That seems to make it an ideal destination for Harden. I think the basketball product in town is a distant second.Portland has nothing to offer. Seems like Harden is basically telling Houston that he’ll go to basically any team that doesn’t suck.
I don’t see this getting resolved any time soon.
Fact check: TrueSomeone on reddit said Portland has the most strip clubs per capita of any major US city. That seems to make it an ideal destination for Harden. I think the basketball product in town is a distant second.
Portland is home to the most strip clubs per capita in the US. According to research by Priceonomics, the city boasts 54 and has more than twice as many strip clubs as it has public restrooms. That is largely because Oregon’s constitution protects “obscenity” under the first amendment. Moreover, zoning laws state that businesses cannot be denied locations based on their sexual content or nature.
Not really a shock that after losing Hayward if they're also missing Kemba they aren't going to look so great, thats 40-45 ppg and your 2 primary distributors
Nononononono. No.
Seems like too much of a dream, but I guess I can squint and imagine some Celtics young guy going crazy, Kemba coming back and looking healthy, and then doing a deal based around that and lots of picks/swaps 4-7 years out?I know it isn't very likely, but if Harden's market craters, it's possible the C's could acquire him without Brown or Tatum.
One can dream.
This exactlyI'm no analyst, but count me among those who love rooting for Jaylen Brown and hate watching James Harden. I'd much rather root against him than for him, and a pretty pumped about the display that Jaylen put on against the Bucks. Hard pass for me.
Agreed. If they stay healthy--no given with Kyrie and Durant--they have enough elite talent and depth to win an NBA title.Brooklyn looking this good early probably takes them out of the running for Harden. Not sure why they'd want to break up that strong bench + send out picks.
Durant looking like a top-3 player still is a game-changer.Agreed. If they stay healthy--no given with Kyrie and Durant--they have enough elite talent and depth to win an NBA title.
Somewhere SRN woke suddenly from a sound sleep and doesn't know why.3rd Quarter Durant being guarded by Tristen Thompson looked like the GOAT yesterday. The Brad Machine hit a snafu with that rotation yesterday. Brown/Tatum need to take turns guarding him
Houston should be closely watching Wiseman over the next month.
Wiggins + Wiseman + Minn 2021 + 3 GSW picks/swap + Oubre FOR Harden + Gordon works.
Houston gets a future + unloads Gordon's longish contract (for a shorter Oubre deal)
G$W back in contention for the next 3 seasons + unload Wiggins
Wiseman may be changing the Warriors’ calculus. He has looked very impressive out there. Not sure I pull the trigger on that if I’m GS anymore, especially given the potential value of the Minn pick.3rd Quarter Durant being guarded by Tristen Thompson looked like the GOAT yesterday. The Brad Machine hit a snafu with that rotation yesterday. Brown/Tatum need to take turns guarding him
Houston should be closely watching Wiseman over the next month.
Wiggins + Wiseman + Minn 2021 + 3 GSW picks/swap + Oubre FOR Harden + Gordon works.
Houston gets a future + unloads Gordon's longish contract (for a shorter Oubre deal)
G$W back in contention for the next 3 seasons + unload Wiggins
they are wasting prime Steph/Dray years with the Trash Bros...Wiseman may be changing the Warriors’ calculus. He has looked very impressive out there. Not sure I pull the trigger on that if I’m GS anymore, especially given the potential value of the Minn pick.
I think Houston is going to have to settle a lot more than they expect for Harden. Teams like Boston, GS, Philly, etc. don’t really need to do anything and are probably holding the line on low ball offers.
It's also the second game of the season and they need to figure out what they have in Thompson. Obviously and apparently he can't guard Durant, not that many can, but I doubt we see that experiment again3rd Quarter Durant being guarded by Tristen Thompson looked like the GOAT yesterday. The Brad Machine hit a snafu with that rotation yesterday. Brown/Tatum need to take turns guarding him
Think it depends on Klay’s prognosis. If he can come back, you’ve got Steph, Klay, Dray, Wiseman and the Minny lotto pick as your core. And they may have their own lotto pick as well. That’s pretty solid. Not sure I would mortgage the future if I were them for Harden with Klay already out.they are wasting prime Steph/Dray years with the Trash Bros...
Yeah, that’s where I am. This season was basically a wash when Klay went down, and was kind of an awkward, fanless, pandemic season to begin with. I’m not parting with a potential 10-15 year franchise player — at $10M a year for the next four seasons — for one full season of bratty Harden with the Big 3. I also think a #5-10 and a #10-20 pick (guesstimating) in next year’s putatively stacked draft are sufficiently valuable where they might be able to get someone to take Wiggins off their hands for a disgruntled vet who is significantly better than Wiggins. If not, they just eat the last two years of his contract, push him down to 7-8 in the rotation where his shortcomings are less problematic, and add more depth and talent with the picks.Think it depends on Klay’s prognosis. If he can come back, you’ve got Steph, Klay, Dray, Wiseman and the Minny lotto pick as your core. And they may have their own lotto pick as well. That’s pretty solid. Not sure I would mortgage the future if I were them for Harden with Klay already out.
even better when Klay comes back...Steph, Klay, Harden, Dray would be fun to watch...Think it depends on Klay’s prognosis. If he can come back, you’ve got Steph, Klay, Dray, Wiseman and the Minny lotto pick as your core. And they may have their own lotto pick as well. That’s pretty solid. Not sure I would mortgage the future if I were them for Harden with Klay already out.