Around the NBA - Haha, just kidding, always knew the Nuggets would take it

[robillionaire]

How come "Hell no!!" isnt an option?

i'd happily do it. RJ is the only thing of significant value and let's be real no matter how high you are on RJ he's not going to be harden, he didn't even have a really good rookie season. 8 and 27 will probably be busts and then you have the late first round mavs picks. And as an added bonus we get rid of randle? We don't even have to trade one of our own picks? and we get one of the best players in the nba

houston would laugh and hang up

I certainly wouldn't. Houston traded away most of their picks for the next for years for Westbrook. They should have kept CP3 who is by and large a superior point guard and shooter. They are Capped out too. In four years Harden will be 35??? So no I would not bail them out.

They are royally stuck and F@cked and in no position to laugh at anyone.

Well they're stuck because of westbrook, not because of Harden. He's their franchise player. But that said they aren't even in our conference so I don't mind to "bail them out" as much as I would a team like Philly. But taking their franchise player for RJ and scraps wouldn't really be a bailout for them either, just us taking an MVP caliber player for virtually nothing

[3toheadmelo]

mitch and luka slander...gotta love realgm.

Lol don’t try to get help from sham by bringing Mitch in this

And no one is “slandering” Luka. All we said was that he’s the same player as Harden, who you hate. Nobody said Luka sucks.

stop saying nonsense. Top 10 player in the NBA. But not Luka talent.

You said you can’t watch Harden on a daily basis and was making a bunch of posts of Harden saying he’s worse than Pandemic P. Sounds like hate to me

And nah. Harden and Luka are the same players. I’ve seen plenty of people say the same. There’s nothing wrong with that either. Both great players. We just find it odd you “can’t watch Harden on a daily basis” when Luka plays the same way carry on

[jvsimonetti0514]

they kinda hate on each other though. they'd have to get over that.

They'll need to suck it up if either of them want to win. Harden is younger too so it gives the Bucks a little bit more time before he's washed.

Harden is 31 now.

He is old enough to be a risky sign because he can lose athleticism and be more injury-prone due to age.

But he is relatively young to be a really expensive trade.

He makes sense only for a win-now team.

I was talking about how the Bucks should try to trade for Harden instead of Paul. So yes Harden is younger. Even at 31, Harden’s game isn’t really based on athleticism And he’s never been seriously injured either. So I don’t see why he wouldn’t have 4/5 great years left.

For the Knicks, having harden in place here with a max spot still open easily puts us in serious conversation with any of the upcoming elite free agents on the market. The guy is arguably a top 5 player in the league, and outside of golden state who can offer Giannis a better running mates than that?

[DOT]

my top 5 right now in no praticular order

LeBron
Luka
Kawhi

[mpharris36]

my top 5 right now in no praticular order

LeBron
Luka
Kawhi

meant to say top 10 my bad. I don't think there is a clear top 5 at this point. I put LeBro, Luka, and Kawhi above the rest of the league.

Giannis was in that group as well but he hasn't proven it in the playoffs like Harden. So I really can't put either of them in that tier.

I probably would have Curry and KD in the top 5...but I have to see them come back healthy.

[Richard4444]

They'll need to suck it up if either of them want to win. Harden is younger too so it gives the Bucks a little bit more time before he's washed.

Harden is 31 now.

He is old enough to be a risky sign because he can lose athleticism and be more injury-prone due to age.

But he is relatively young to be a really expensive trade.

He makes sense only for a win-now team.

I was talking about how the Bucks should try to trade for Harden instead of Paul. So yes Harden is younger. Even at 31, Harden’s game isn’t really based on athleticism And he’s never been seriously injured either. So I don’t see why he wouldn’t have 4/5 great years left.

For the Knicks, having harden in place here with a max spot still open easily puts us in serious conversation with any of the upcoming elite free agents on the market. The guy is arguably a top 5 player in the league, and outside of golden state who can offer Giannis a better running mates than that?

Who are the elite FAs available in 2021 besides Giannis? Do you think LA stars are going to walk? Do you consider Oladipo, Jrue or Drummond, elite FAs?

[robillionaire]

How come "Hell no!!" isnt an option?

i'd happily do it. RJ is the only thing of significant value and let's be real no matter how high you are on RJ he's not going to be harden, he didn't even have a really good rookie season. 8 and 27 will probably be busts and then you have the late first round mavs picks. And as an added bonus we get rid of randle? We don't even have to trade one of our own picks? and we get one of the best players in the nba

houston would laugh and hang up

Nice. Now who you gonna surround Harden with.

well with RJ, Randle, and rookie contracts of 8 and 27 off the books. we would have an incredible amount of cap space plus we would still have all our own first round picks. So this is not like the Melo trade or anything where we essentially had no way to improve the team. The only people for sure on the roster would be Harden, Mitch, Knox, and the last year of Frank, DSJ, and Brazdeikis. That could make us an actual destination for a potential top free agent or we can just continue to draft. Just Harden Frank and Mitch would be kinda cool to watch together. With 3 years left on his deal I think he'll still be in prime from from 31-34. None of this is happening but it's interesting to think about.

[knicks94]

I remember when Knicks fans wanted to trade Melo for Harden.

[robillionaire]

my top 5 right now in no praticular order

LeBron
Luka
Kawhi

meant to say top 10 my bad. I don't think there is a clear top 5 at this point. I put LeBro, Luka, and Kawhi above the rest of the league.

Giannis was in that group as well but he hasn't proven it in the playoffs like Harden. So I really can't put either of them in that tier.

I probably would have Curry and KD in the top 5...but I have to see them come back healthy.

well how can you put luka there, he's never been out of the first round, do you not hold giannis and harden to similar standards

[mpharris36]

meant to say top 10 my bad. I don't think there is a clear top 5 at this point. I put LeBro, Luka, and Kawhi above the rest of the league.

Giannis was in that group as well but he hasn't proven it in the playoffs like Harden. So I really can't put either of them in that tier.

I probably would have Curry and KD in the top 5...but I have to see them come back healthy.

well how can you put luka there, he's never been out of the first round, do you not hold giannis and harden to similar standards

its more projection. Because he really hasn't failed yet. He is 20 and took the clippers to game 6 (the team I think is the best team in the west) with no one on the roster.

Its more that he hasn't proven to me he has failed yet when the other guys have had opportunities.

100% if Luka 5 years from now and we are sitting here and is getting knocked out early in the playoffs every year I will be drop him down a class. Fair?

But right now I think he arguably the best player in the NBA so that is why he is in that class now at 20 years old.

[knicks94]

Are we really comparing Luka to Harden? Luka was a star in his rookie year. It took Harden 4 years to be an elite level player.

[stuporman]

Are people forgetting Harden was drafted onto a team with Durant and Westbrook already on it? Who was on the Mavs when Luka showed up? Barea and Harris? The fossilized Dirk?

He wasn't coming into a situation like Luka where he was handed the keys from day one, that being said Luka is way more of a facilitator that Harden ever was. Harden gets Marbury assists from dominating the ball and dishing from the attention.

Luka is a point forward more like LeBron is with next level vision who can score like Harden can that's what makes him so unique.

[robillionaire]

meant to say top 10 my bad. I don't think there is a clear top 5 at this point. I put LeBro, Luka, and Kawhi above the rest of the league.

Giannis was in that group as well but he hasn't proven it in the playoffs like Harden. So I really can't put either of them in that tier.

I probably would have Curry and KD in the top 5...but I have to see them come back healthy.

well how can you put luka there, he's never been out of the first round, do you not hold giannis and harden to similar standards

its more projection. Because he really hasn't failed yet. He is 20 and took the clippers to game 6 (the team I think is the best team in the west) with no one on the roster.

Its more that he hasn't proven to me he has failed yet when the other guys have had opportunities.

100% if Luka 5 years from now and we are sitting here and is getting knocked out early in the playoffs every year I will be drop him down a class. Fair?

But right now I think he arguably the best player in the NBA so that is why he is in that class now at 20 years old.

that's fair but if you allow me play devil's advocate, last year Giannis was in the ECF and lost to Kawhi and the eventual nba champs, and Harden has also taken houston to the conference finals where the warriors super team was always a little too much to overcome, in fact they lost to the warriors 4 times in the past 6 seasons, and now this year he lost to LeBron and AD. Is there really a great deal of shame in that. Basically to say that Luka gets a pass for losing to Kawhi, these guys also have lost to Kawhi and Lebron

[DOT]

Lot of this Luka talk is based off potential and expectations

People expect that he'll go on and make deep playoff runs in the future, and are using that to justify why he's great now when if it's a player they don't like as much, they only look at what he has done, and assume they won't ever do anything more

Yes, Luka at 21 is, statistically, one of the best players in the league. But if the metric is winning playoff series, he hasn't got that yet. I'm not gonna knock him for losing to a really good team missing his 2nd best player, but you can't use future potential victories when judging him either.

[mpharris36]

well how can you put luka there, he's never been out of the first round, do you not hold giannis and harden to similar standards

its more projection. Because he really hasn't failed yet. He is 20 and took the clippers to game 6 (the team I think is the best team in the west) with no one on the roster.

Its more that he hasn't proven to me he has failed yet when the other guys have had opportunities.

100% if Luka 5 years from now and we are sitting here and is getting knocked out early in the playoffs every year I will be drop him down a class. Fair?

But right now I think he arguably the best player in the NBA so that is why he is in that class now at 20 years old.

that's fair but if you allow me play devil's advocate, last year Giannis was in the ECF and lost to Kawhi and the eventual nba champs, and Harden has also taken houston to the conference finals where the warriors super team was always a little too much to overcome, in fact they lost to the warriors 4 times in the past 6 seasons, and now this year he lost to LeBron and AD. Is there really a great deal of shame in that

there isn't shame I just don't think I am knocking them saying they both are top 10 players. If anything gun to my head Giannis is probably is a top 5 player (just got frustrated a bit that if this wasn't going to be MIL year then when is it?) to me as well because he is a legit difference maker on defense too. I think anyone can't do it on there own the NBA has always been that case.

Giannis probably feels the same because he met with the bucks about the future and probably doesn't see a path to the finals as currently constituted.

[thebuzzardman]

Because Doncic at 21 is already better than Harden has ever been

That's kind of laughable.

He achieved Hardens stride for the last 6 years in his first or second season.
They are now effectively the same guy.
It IS impressive that he did that, where it took Harden like 6 years to fall into that mode/role

(circumstances of where drafted come into play here, but Luka was more likely to be handed the keys because of how awesome he was young)

Luka MIGHT, and probably will, find another level, but for now? Pretty much the same guy.

I mean, even down to flopping, whining and not playing defense.
Oh, sorry, Harden is the better shooter.

Nailed it. Even their numbers are very similar as well. Not sure how someone can hate Harden but stan Luka when they’re literally the same players

I'm even saying it's a good thing.

[mpharris36]

Lot of this Luka talk is based off potential and expectations

People expect that he'll go on and make deep playoff runs in the future, and are using that to justify why he's great now when if it's a player they don't like as much, they only look at what he has done, and assume they won't ever do anything more

Yes, Luka at 21 is, statistically, one of the best players in the league. But if the metric is winning playoff series, he hasn't got that yet. I'm not gonna knock him for losing to a really good team missing his 2nd best player, but you can't use future potential victories when judging him either.

agreed, however my logic is I kinda give the younger guys a few years to prove they do it at the next level (playoffs). Also some guys just don't have championship teams yet (DAL didn't even have KP for much of the playoffs).

I guess my projection is while I expect really great playoffs runs from Luka until he proves me otherwise I think I just expect it. Is that fair to suggest because I have seen Harden struggle in the biggest moments maybe its I have the belief Luka will get past that point when Harden hasn't?

Like I said if Luka in 5 years is in the same 1 and done rut I probably might change my tune that he can be a generationally great player because generationally great comes with playoff success too IMO.

[3toheadmelo]

Lot of this Luka talk is based off potential and expectations

People expect that he'll go on and make deep playoff runs in the future, and are using that to justify why he's great now when if it's a player they don't like as much, they only look at what he has done, and assume they won't ever do anything more

Yes, Luka at 21 is, statistically, one of the best players in the league. But if the metric is winning playoff series, he hasn't got that yet. I'm not gonna knock him for losing to a really good team missing his 2nd best player, but you can't use future potential victories when judging him either.

Yes it’s very impressive that he’s at Harden’s level at such a young age and he can definitely get better . Nobody said otherwise. Me and Buzz were just saying he plays the same way as Harden and numbers wise they are very similar as well.
So we were confused on why mpharris doesn’t like Harden but stans for Luka when they are very similar players.

[robillionaire]

its more projection. Because he really hasn't failed yet. He is 20 and took the clippers to game 6 (the team I think is the best team in the west) with no one on the roster.

Its more that he hasn't proven to me he has failed yet when the other guys have had opportunities.

100% if Luka 5 years from now and we are sitting here and is getting knocked out early in the playoffs every year I will be drop him down a class. Fair?

But right now I think he arguably the best player in the NBA so that is why he is in that class now at 20 years old.

that's fair but if you allow me play devil's advocate, last year Giannis was in the ECF and lost to Kawhi and the eventual nba champs, and Harden has also taken houston to the conference finals where the warriors super team was always a little too much to overcome, in fact they lost to the warriors 4 times in the past 6 seasons, and now this year he lost to LeBron and AD. Is there really a great deal of shame in that

there isn't shame I just don't think I am knocking them saying they both are top 10 players. If anything gun to my head Giannis is probably is a top 5 player (just got frustrated a bit that if this wasn't going to be MIL year then when is it?) to me as well because he is a legit difference maker on defense too. I think anyone can't do it on there own the NBA has always been that case.

Giannis probably feels the same because he met with the bucks about the future and probably doesn't see a path to the finals as currently constituted.

I do agree with you that if we are factoring in projection, what they have done at a comparable age, and who you would take if you were starting a franchise, etc. Luka would be my first pick right now. But when you negate those things I think you just have Lebron and Kawhi above all right now.

The Bucks screwed Giannis by being cheap and not keeping Brogdon. He should leave. Also, the Rockets completely bungled the cp3 situation. Westbrook looks washed and is super maxed for 3 more years, and they traded cp3(who was better in the playoffs) as well as 2024, 2026 FRP and pick swaps in 2021 and 2025.

[thebuzzardman]

Lot of this Luka talk is based off potential and expectations

People expect that he'll go on and make deep playoff runs in the future, and are using that to justify why he's great now when if it's a player they don't like as much, they only look at what he has done, and assume they won't ever do anything more

Yes, Luka at 21 is, statistically, one of the best players in the league. But if the metric is winning playoff series, he hasn't got that yet. I'm not gonna knock him for losing to a really good team missing his 2nd best player, but you can't use future potential victories when judging him either.

I'm not into comparing player projections.

In this latest round of Knick board pettiness, I'm just stating that Luka and Harden are DAMN similar, right now. Nearly exactly players.

Which is awesome for a 2nd year player, as Harden took about 6 seasons to be this version of Harden, which he has then maintained for about 6 seasons. Which is also awesome. In fact, Harden might get plus points for maintaining it for 6 years.
But let's not give him that. And lets not give Luka his "upside", as this might be it - or it might not, but if it's it's already awesome.

But now, there are effectively the same guy.