Harden-watch 2020

[DarkXaero]

So Harden a no show at Houston 1st practice after partying like crazy with Lil Baby in Atlanta and Vegas. Rockets saying stuff about covid protocol and making excuses, but I think Harden knows what he's doing, and to me, it appears that he's still trying to force his way out. Harden knew that NBA's covid protocol would make him miss team practice if he went out and partied.

Regardless, if Harden becomes a Net, he better cut out this partying **** during pandemic restrictions. Rumor is that he already had covid before the bubble, but it's still stupidity.

If he’s at a strip club of all places during the worst pandemic in a century. Do you really think he’ll suddenly change his ways lol? He is who he is.

Well at the moment, I think this is purely about trying to force his way out and sabotage his trade value at the same time. I agree though, this isn't the way to do it.

[DarkXaero]

Rumors were that Harden had covid pre-bubble. Given his recent activities, I'm inclined to believe that. And if he didn't, then he's truly a dumbass who deserves all the criticism.

[haosmoove]

I’m not defending it, condoning it, etc., but at this point this is basically just Harden telling the Rockets, **** it, you don’t want to trade me to Brooklyn, I’m literally going to make it so I’m not even allowed at team facilities or with the team due to Covid protocol.

Eventually he’ll be fined and suspended by the NBA in all likelihood for violating their league-wide protocol though.

I think it makes it less likely that they trade him here. More likely that we see a Spurs scenario where they just send him off to the highest bidder.

I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up on the Pacers or something.

I don't think we should be involved in this drama anymore. Would rather focus on building chemistry with the team we have.

Would other teams be willing to pay close to what we are, given that he doesn't want to play for them?

[Hello Brooklyn]

I’m not defending it, condoning it, etc., but at this point this is basically just Harden telling the Rockets, **** it, you don’t want to trade me to Brooklyn, I’m literally going to make it so I’m not even allowed at team facilities or with the team due to Covid protocol.

Eventually he’ll be fined and suspended by the NBA in all likelihood for violating their league-wide protocol though.

I think it makes it less likely that they trade him here. More likely that we see a Spurs scenario where they just send him off to the highest bidder.

I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up on the Pacers or something.

I don't think we should be involved in this drama anymore. Would rather focus on building chemistry with the team we have.

Would other teams be willing to pay close to what we are, given that he doesn't want to play for them?

Its clear Houston isn't interested in our assets anyway.

I don't think they want to pay Dinwiddie or Allen. And they don't want Levert either. Picks can be acquired anywhere.

And I think other teams would still give up assets for 2 years of Harden.

I think they are going to send him somewhere random in the next few weeks. Thats my best guess.

[MrDollarBills]

Rumors were that Harden had covid pre-bubble. Given his recent activities, I'm inclined to believe that. And if he didn't, then he's truly a dumbass who deserves all the criticism.

Even if he did have Covid pre bubble, which is likely based on his lifestyle and how things were down in Houston to begin with, he's still a dumb ass because there's no evidence that you are immune from Covid after recovering from it.

Either way, I've resigned myself to this being a dead deal.

[MrDollarBills]

The Houston Rockets don't have a timetable for when James Harden will join the team in training camp.

"There is no timetable, as far as I know," said Stephen Silas. "It is a setback. You want your best player to be here."

Silas also isn't sure if Harden is currently in Houston.

Harden continues to seek a trade from the Rockets this offseason. Sources from the Rockets previously told ESPN that they were "willing to get uncomfortable" on resisting a trade of Harden until their asking price is met.

Silas was asked if he has clarity on Harden's message to the Rockets.

"I take it basically at face value that he’s not here. And what the reasoning is, is on him. He’s the one who can explain why or why not he’s not here."

I feel bad for Silas, but at the end of the day, this falls on Houston's owner and GM. They were quick to act on Westbrook, yet they called Harden's bluff and now it's blowing up in their faces.

[DarkXaero]

Rumors were that Harden had covid pre-bubble. Given his recent activities, I'm inclined to believe that. And if he didn't, then he's truly a dumbass who deserves all the criticism.

Even if he did have Covid pre bubble, which is likely based on his lifestyle and how things were down in Houston to begin with, he's still a dumb ass because there's no evidence that you are immune from Covid after recovering from it.

Either way, I've resigned myself to this being a dead deal.

The reinfection stuff isn't conclusive at all, and even if there is a chance of getting reinfected, I believe it only applies to very special cases. I don't think a pro athlete would be one of those very special cases. And naturally you build immunity after recovery, that's basic biology. Of course if you're a pro athlete who had covid before, and you're partying like crazy, it's still a terrible look and an example of immaturity. But I do genuinely believe he's mainly doing this to get the **** out of Houston asap.

I don't know why you would think this is a "dead deal" when things are really escalating in our favor.

[haosmoove]

I think it makes it less likely that they trade him here. More likely that we see a Spurs scenario where they just send him off to the highest bidder.

I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up on the Pacers or something.

I don't think we should be involved in this drama anymore. Would rather focus on building chemistry with the team we have.

Would other teams be willing to pay close to what we are, given that he doesn't want to play for them?

Its clear Houston isn't interested in our assets anyway.

I don't think they want to pay Dinwiddie or Allen. And they don't want Levert either. Picks can be acquired anywhere.

And I think other teams would still give up assets for 2 years of Harden.

I think they are going to send him somewhere random in the next few weeks. Thats my best guess.

You already made arguments about Harden is not worth all the assets even though he's likely to stay with us beyond 2 years. So you are now predicting some GM will risk all that assets (and their career) for a likely 2 year rental? Especially after seeing what he does when he doesn't want to play? His non-reporting definitely scares other teams that are looking to take a chance on him.

He's clearly worth more to the Nets than other teams because of what can happen beyond his current contract. I still want the Nets to trade for him before the season starts. Otherwise revisit next off-season to keep the distractions out. Although I'd imagine to be quite impossible. Nets will be rumored in every superstar trades as long as they have a deep team.

[Hello Brooklyn]

Would other teams be willing to pay close to what we are, given that he doesn't want to play for them?

Its clear Houston isn't interested in our assets anyway.

I don't think they want to pay Dinwiddie or Allen. And they don't want Levert either. Picks can be acquired anywhere.

And I think other teams would still give up assets for 2 years of Harden.

I think they are going to send him somewhere random in the next few weeks. Thats my best guess.

You already made arguments about Harden is not worth all the assets even though he's likely to stay with us beyond 2 years. So you are now predicting some GM will risk all that assets (and their career) for a likely 2 year rental? Especially after seeing what he does when he doesn't want to play? His non-reporting definitely scares other teams that are looking to take a chance on him.

He's clearly worth more to the Nets than other teams because of what can happen beyond his current contract. I still want the Nets to trade for him before the season starts. Otherwise revisit next off-season to keep the distractions out. Although I'd imagine to be quite impossible. Nets will be rumored in every superstar trades as long as they have a deep team.

You're lying about what I said. I have stated multiple times that I would be willing all to give up all those guys up plus 3 picks for Harden. I was arguing against giving any more than that.

Yes I am predicting that a GM will give up assets to get a top 5 player for 2 years. We literally saw it happen already with Kawhi and Paul George.

Stop being such a homer and look at things objectively.

[haosmoove]

Its clear Houston isn't interested in our assets anyway.

I don't think they want to pay Dinwiddie or Allen. And they don't want Levert either. Picks can be acquired anywhere.

And I think other teams would still give up assets for 2 years of Harden.

I think they are going to send him somewhere random in the next few weeks. Thats my best guess.

You already made arguments about Harden is not worth all the assets even though he's likely to stay with us beyond 2 years. So you are now predicting some GM will risk all that assets (and their career) for a likely 2 year rental? Especially after seeing what he does when he doesn't want to play? His non-reporting definitely scares other teams that are looking to take a chance on him.

He's clearly worth more to the Nets than other teams because of what can happen beyond his current contract. I still want the Nets to trade for him before the season starts. Otherwise revisit next off-season to keep the distractions out. Although I'd imagine to be quite impossible. Nets will be rumored in every superstar trades as long as they have a deep team.

You're lying about what I said. I have stated multiple times that I would be willing all to give up all those guys up plus 3 picks for Harden. I was arguing against giving any more than that.

Yes I am predicting that a GM will give up assets to get a top 5 player for 2 years. We literally saw it happen already with Kawhi and Paul George.

Stop being such a homer and look at things objectively.

So you are ok with all the players + 3 picks but not + 2 more pick swaps? Seems odd that you are trying to save like 2% on a deal.

Yes, we have seen teams overpay to get superstars on their team. It worked for Raptors, and not so much for Clippers. Obviously the situation was a little different for Clippers as they had legitimate reasons to believe they can build a franchise for years to come.

Of course anything can happen, we are all guessing here. I tried looking at this situation objectively and had given out my reasoning. FWIW, Vegas also thinks Nets have the best chance (by far) to trade for Harden.

[StepBackCrack]

Did Kawhi have a specific team he wanted tho? I don't remember that being the case. That's a big difference with Harden case even if we ignore the contract difference. Also Kawhi is the opposite of Harden behavior-wise which makes it much easier for GMs to take a risk with him. Taking a risk on Harden won't be easy at all imo. The team has to be a contender not a random team otherwise, Harden will be extremely unhappy. What's the point of bringing very unhappy superstar to your team? So yeah, that team will have to be a contender imo in order for taking a risk on him making sense.

[MrDollarBills]

Rumors were that Harden had covid pre-bubble. Given his recent activities, I'm inclined to believe that. And if he didn't, then he's truly a dumbass who deserves all the criticism.

Even if he did have Covid pre bubble, which is likely based on his lifestyle and how things were down in Houston to begin with, he's still a dumb ass because there's no evidence that you are immune from Covid after recovering from it.

Either way, I've resigned myself to this being a dead deal.

The reinfection stuff isn't conclusive at all, and even if there is a chance of getting reinfected, I believe it only applies to very special cases. I don't think a pro athlete would be one of those very special cases. And naturally you build immunity after recovery, that's basic biology. Of course if you're a pro athlete who had covid before, and you're partying like crazy, it's still a terrible look and an example of immaturity. But I do genuinely believe he's mainly doing this to get the **** out of Houston asap.

I don't know why you would think this is a "dead deal" when things are really escalating in our favor.

There's literally zero evidence (right now) regarding immunity to reinfection, but I digress.

re: Harden and a trade to the Nets

General consensus seems to be that our assets are not very good. I don't see how this goes in our favor, I think the owner is an ass hole who will be petty and not send Harden to where he wants to go...plus, another team with better assets could swoop in and try to pull what the Raptors did with Leonard.

[MrDollarBills]

Read on Twitter

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "Knicks of the South". Jesus lord almighty, what a disaster. Fertilizer or whatever his name is needs to sell that team

[haosmoove]

Read on Twitter

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "Knicks of the South". Jesus lord almighty, what a disaster. Fertilizer or whatever his name is needs to sell that team

Except that the Rockets make playoffs every year. Knicks fans would die for their team to become the Rockets of the East.

[StepBackCrack]

Even if he did have Covid pre bubble, which is likely based on his lifestyle and how things were down in Houston to begin with, he's still a dumb ass because there's no evidence that you are immune from Covid after recovering from it.

Either way, I've resigned myself to this being a dead deal.

The reinfection stuff isn't conclusive at all, and even if there is a chance of getting reinfected, I believe it only applies to very special cases. I don't think a pro athlete would be one of those very special cases. And naturally you build immunity after recovery, that's basic biology. Of course if you're a pro athlete who had covid before, and you're partying like crazy, it's still a terrible look and an example of immaturity. But I do genuinely believe he's mainly doing this to get the **** out of Houston asap.

I don't know why you would think this is a "dead deal" when things are really escalating in our favor.

There's literally zero evidence (right now) regarding immunity to reinfection, but I digress.

re: Harden and a trade to the Nets

General consensus seems to be that our assets are not very good. I don't see how this goes in our favor, I think the owner is an ass hole who will be petty and not send Harden to where he wants to go...plus, another team with better assets could swoop in and try to pull what the Raptors did with Leonard.

That is possible indeed BUT that team has to be a contender with Harden (like Sixers or GSW). It doesn't make any sense risking trading for Harden for non-contenders. He will be out of there in a year max if that happens. As things stand, even contenders aren't showing much willingness to trade for Harden. Warriors like Wiseman a lot from what I've seen and Sixers don't want to trade Ben.

[MrDollarBills]

Read on Twitter

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "Knicks of the South". Jesus lord almighty, what a disaster. Fertilizer or whatever his name is needs to sell that team

Except that the Rockets make playoffs every year. Knicks fans would die for their team to become the Rockets of the East.

You have a point

[MrDollarBills]

The reinfection stuff isn't conclusive at all, and even if there is a chance of getting reinfected, I believe it only applies to very special cases. I don't think a pro athlete would be one of those very special cases. And naturally you build immunity after recovery, that's basic biology. Of course if you're a pro athlete who had covid before, and you're partying like crazy, it's still a terrible look and an example of immaturity. But I do genuinely believe he's mainly doing this to get the **** out of Houston asap.

I don't know why you would think this is a "dead deal" when things are really escalating in our favor.

There's literally zero evidence (right now) regarding immunity to reinfection, but I digress.

re: Harden and a trade to the Nets

General consensus seems to be that our assets are not very good. I don't see how this goes in our favor, I think the owner is an ass hole who will be petty and not send Harden to where he wants to go...plus, another team with better assets could swoop in and try to pull what the Raptors did with Leonard.

That is possible indeed BUT that team has to be a contender with Harden (like Sixers or GSW). It doesn't make any sense risking trading for Harden for non-contenders. He will be out of there in a year max if that happens. As things stand, even contenders aren't showing much willingness to trade for Harden. Warriors like Wiseman a lot from what I've seen and Sixers don't want to trade Ben.

if that's true, then yes the Rockets are digging themselves into a deeper hole. But you just never know. Raptors gambled hard on Leonard and it paid off. I can't help but think someone out there may have the balls to try it.

[StepBackCrack]

Not saying Nets will get him for sure but they have a decent chance still. Although I understand people getting tired of this drama. But to me, I'm just like "hey if Harden comes, that's GREAT!! If he doesn't, then Nets will still be pretty good!". But yeah, Nets should still seek Harden no doubt. That's the right thing to do. He is too great of a player to give up on. Nets should just be on stand by and see when Rockets will have enough of this mess. That's all.

[DarkXaero]

Even if he did have Covid pre bubble, which is likely based on his lifestyle and how things were down in Houston to begin with, he's still a dumb ass because there's no evidence that you are immune from Covid after recovering from it.

Either way, I've resigned myself to this being a dead deal.

The reinfection stuff isn't conclusive at all, and even if there is a chance of getting reinfected, I believe it only applies to very special cases. I don't think a pro athlete would be one of those very special cases. And naturally you build immunity after recovery, that's basic biology. Of course if you're a pro athlete who had covid before, and you're partying like crazy, it's still a terrible look and an example of immaturity. But I do genuinely believe he's mainly doing this to get the **** out of Houston asap.

I don't know why you would think this is a "dead deal" when things are really escalating in our favor.

There's literally zero evidence (right now) regarding immunity to reinfection, but I digress.

re: Harden and a trade to the Nets

General consensus seems to be that our assets are not very good. I don't see how this goes in our favor, I think the owner is an ass hole who will be petty and not send Harden to where he wants to go...plus, another team with better assets could swoop in and try to pull what the Raptors did with Leonard.

Rockets are definitely not enamored with what we have to (potentially) offer, and I don't blame them. But Harden is not only trying to force his way out right now, he's also sabotaging his trade value. Any dark horse candidate to trade for him has to seriously consider that he can pull this kind of unprofessional bs with them.

[NyCeEvO]

I think it makes it less likely that they trade him here. More likely that we see a Spurs scenario where they just send him off to the highest bidder.

I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up on the Pacers or something.

I don't think we should be involved in this drama anymore. Would rather focus on building chemistry with the team we have.

Would other teams be willing to pay close to what we are, given that he doesn't want to play for them?

Its clear Houston isn't interested in our assets anyway.

I don't think they want to pay Dinwiddie or Allen. And they don't want Levert either. Picks can be acquired anywhere.

And I think other teams would still give up assets for 2 years of Harden.

I think they are going to send him somewhere random in the next few weeks. Thats my best guess.

I have always had major doubts that a trade would happen. At the same time, I wouldn’t be so sure that they’re simply uninterested. They may want to see continued improvement from Levert and Allen before making a trade.