Should Houston blow it up in the offseason?

[tlance]

HARDEN is 28.0/7.0/6.3

That is an incredible MVP line.
He might not be the best defender, but neither was many other MVP type players.
You can live with sub-par defense when the offense is at those gaudy levels.

You just need defense from roleplayers.
The problem is that his role-players are even worse at defense than Harden....this year especially.
If you are not going to contribute anything offensively, you better hustle and play defense.

Guys like Ariza, Beverly, Lawson, and Terry are absolutely dreadful on defense this season.
And for some reason, Beverly and Ariza are actually lauded for defense despite the on court play not supporting it.

I completely disagree with this comment.

Harden may get accolades and MVP consideration because of his offensive brilliance, but that just illustrates the majorly flawed methods with which NBA players are evaluated. Players like Harden simply do not win titles as the number 1 option on a team. Why? Because he is tremendously overrated.

There are 3 things Harden does which I call the 3 destructive habits.

1) he puts forth little effort on defense
2) he holds the ball on offense, preventing ball movement and offensive flow
3) he takes bad shots

All three of those habits erode team chemistry. If a player has one or two of those habits, it is possible that the good can outweigh the bad. Players who have all 3, however, are guys that are absolutely brutal to play with, regardless of how talented they might be. Harden will never be a winner unless he re-invents himself as a player or he gets paired with a legit superstar like LeBron or Durant and he can go back to being more of a complementary player.

THe fact that guys like Harden ever get discussed as MVP caliber players kind of makes me sick to my stomach. Harden is more of a problem than Howard. To answer the question, yes, I think the Rockets should blow it up.

 

[tlance]

I am not saying Howard is an innocent victim, but I do think it is crazy that more people seem to blame Dwight than Harden. If Harden were a better leader and had his priorities in the right place, the entire dynamic would be different. Harden seems more interested in his personal stat line than he is in winning.

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

I'm sure the Lakers are open to trading for Harden.

Only question is, do the Rockets want Nick Young or Ryan Kelly for him?

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

Also. i've got to thank Houston for Larry Nance Jr!

 

[WiggyRuss]

I am not saying Howard is an innocent victim, but I do think it is crazy that more people seem to blame Dwight than Harden. If Harden were a better leader and had his priorities in the right place, the entire dynamic would be different. Harden seems more interested in his personal stat line than he is in winning.

the thing is- they are both pretty poor leaders....like last year when things are going well- or some of those years in Orlando for Dwight---- Harden and Dwight are really good potentially great players. When things are going well they both put fourth a lot of effort- the defensive stats for Harden showed he played really well last year- and show this year he is not even trying-and your eyeballs certainly confirm that. When these guys get in tough times they fold.....its just who they are. They need a steady leader to be out in front and answer the hard questions and rally the team because they just cant.

this is why a guy like Al Horford has such value. If you switched EITHER of those guys for AL horford- the team would have some leadership and the guy that stayed would be fine. Dwight and Harden combo is dangerous...the whining and poor body language and poor effort etc that one displays seems to transfer to the other one and then spirals down.

Both are still all star players- but they are miscaste as the leaders of their team.....

think of how foolish it sounds comparing them to other high profile teams in the somewhat recent history of the NBA--- Pierce/GArnett/Allen Kobe/Pau , LeBron/Wade/Bosh , Duncan/Parker/Ginobili (now Leonard, Aldridge), LeBron/Love/Irving , Durant/RW/Ibaka, Curry/Thompson/Green...

in every one of those groups there is at least ONE guy- if not multiple guys- who is a leader whether its Pierce or Garnett or Kobe or LeBron or Wade or Duncan or Green or whatever.....the Rockets are just totally devoid of that- and then their role guys--- Lawson, Smith, etc actually potentially make it even more volatile there......

Morey thought he could just throw those guys together...it doesnt exactly work like that obviously---- that being said- the team WAS in the WCF last year- thats not easy.

 

[WiggyRuss]

guys who do you think would even be candidates to trade for Howard?

 

[bksballer89]

guys who do you think would even be candidates to trade for Howard?

The Celtics were reported a few days ago. Not sure who else would be interested but as Trojan said he is a 7 foot center who defends. He will have a list of teams wanting him

 

[WiggyRuss]

The Celtics were reported a few days ago. Not sure who else would be interested but as Trojan said he is a 7 foot center who defends. He will have a list of teams wanting him

in free agency he will..

I dont see one team in the West that it makes sense to trade for him...

in the East- yah definitely the Celtics...

after that I would guess Charlotte, Chicago, Miami....

other than those 4 teams...i just dont see how it makes sense for anyone else or if they would even have the assets...

 

[trojanfan12]

I am not saying Howard is an innocent victim, but I do think it is crazy that more people seem to blame Dwight than Harden. If Harden were a better leader and had his priorities in the right place, the entire dynamic would be different. Harden seems more interested in his personal stat line than he is in winning.

They are essentially, the same guy when it comes being a leader. They both want to lead, but neither knows how, even though they think they have it all figured out.

They each have the same problem, only on opposite sides of the ball and both put up empty numbers because of it. Dwight is still very good on defense and the boards. But his offense is so limited and his free throw shooting so bad, that while he still gets points off of put backs, etc. he is pretty much useless late in games on the offensive end.

Harden puts up gaudy offensive numbers, but those numbers become empty because of how bad he is on defense and as you mentioned, he's a ballstopper and kills offensive flow.

 

[Heatles84]

its strange because Beverly i thought was one of the better defenders in the league at the guard position- and Ariza has always had a decent rep as a 3 and D gu......Lawson and Terry i am sure are dreadful defensively.

i dont know how you blow up a win-now team with Harden on it- a guy who was what? 2nd in the MVP last year?---

they screwed up when they were trying to court Bosh and let Parsons go etc......Morey treated the roster like a video game roster- and after you do that for too long- all the chemistry goes- and when you have a few malcontents and babys on the roster it can get bad quick...

this is a team that would GREATLY benefit from some high character role players that just have a role and perform it


and as much as people want to criticize Dwight - Dwight is getting a contract of OVER 25 million a year this offseason- and teams will be FIGHTING over the chance to offer him that.

I think Morey made up for it with the signing of Ariza. Ariza's a decent 3-point shooter and elite wing defender. Parsons and Ariza are nearly the same talent level of player. Parsons more for offense, Ariza more for defense.

Thing is, Dwight eats up a good amount of cap space at $22 mil this season. Howard's best days are far behind him and Harden doesn't even believe in defense. I'm of the belief that he thinks defense is a myth.

I think where we're in disagreement is Dwight getting a massive contract that size from a lot of teams. I'm not saying he won't get it, but there's going to be teams that won't go over $20 mil per next season with Dwight. He's simply not worth it, even with the cap going up.

 

[Johnnydollaz89]

guys who do you think would even be candidates to trade for Howard?

Celtics and Hornets.

 

[Heatles84]

guys who do you think would even be candidates to trade for Howard?

I think Boston has the only assets that would benefit both parties. They could trade some of their cache of 1st round picks without disrupting much of their core which looks very promising. Sadly for Houston, the options are quite limited in terms of getting equal beneficial returns for a player that's making north of $20 mil per year who's also on the decline now.

 

[Heatles84]

Celtics and Hornets.

I thought of the Hornets and they have Al Jefferson. Not sure I'd want to give him up for Howard. But I also haven't seen many Hornets games so I have no idea how he's doing this season.

 

[ChrisGar15]

I thought of the Hornets and they have Al Jefferson. Not sure I'd want to give him up for Howard. But I also haven't seen many Hornets games so I have no idea how he's doing this season.

Al Jeff is out until March sometime ... and is a UFA after the season.

 

[Heatles84]

Al Jeff is out until March sometime ... and is a UFA after the season.

Ok. Wasn't aware. I guess that Hornets trade would make sense and would probably bring them around the middle of the pack (3rd to 6th seed in the East). Still don't see them beating Cleveland, Toronto, or Chicago in a 7-game series though with Howard added to their group.

 

[Johnnydollaz89]

I thought of the Hornets and they have Al Jefferson. Not sure I'd want to give him up for Howard. But I also haven't seen many Hornets games so I have no idea how he's doing this season.

They have Ewing there, Howard had his best years in Orlando when paired with Patrick Ewing.

 

[Heatles84]

They have Ewing there, Howard had his best years in Orlando when paired with Patrick Ewing.

That was also before the back issues that Howard's had the last few years. Also, that Orlando Magic squad was built around Dwight's strengths - they surrounded him with perimeter players.

 

[lakersrule]

Boston doesn't want him. I would worry about destroying team chemistry bringing this guy in mid-season.

 

[starbigd]

Word is where I live ATL and Dallas have interest.

ATL seems gunshy when it comes to making moves, but they NEED a playmaker. I don't think Howard is that guy, but we'll see what they do. NO WAY Houston even talks to Dallas.

 

[LAD]

Yes. The combination of Howard and Harden succeeded as much as everyone outside of Houston expected. Personally I think they should trade both and load up on picks. But Harden is pretty talented and is entering his prime. The reason I mention Harden is because he doesn't seem like the guy that'll ever win you a title.

I agree. I think they need to spend to get another star, one that is proven & can be the leader that will get them over the hump. Harden would be a complimentary 1b IMO.