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2023 offseason thread

thunderc

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Well Harden did get the max, so he can take comfort in that.
 

Sparhawk

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According to The Athletic, Sixers owner Josh Harris said on Monday that he’s working to convince Harden to remain in Philadelphia, but isn’t closing the door on a trade.

“I respect James. I want to, obviously, accommodate what he wants,” Harris said. “At the same time, I have to think about a championship-contending team, what we can get back. I’d love to convince him to stay. I understand that that’s not what he wants to do right now.

“I’m going to keep working to resolve it in a way that everyone can live with and is positive for everyone, whatever that resolution is. … I respect him as a basketball player, and as a person. It’s back to, these are, you’re dealing with people, right? And you’ve got to be there. We’ll see where it comes out.”
Maybe Josh Harris isn't an expert on boundaries......

 

thunderc

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Just happened to be listening to local radio when a local reporter I really respect came on. The subject turned to James Harden and what kind of a team might actually want him. He said well I’m not going to say there isn’t a team out there, but I don’t know who it is. He then told a story, he said for the first time. He said he knew for a fact that Russell Westbrook was excited to go back to Houston to play with Harden. That excitement didn’t last long after he got there and was shocked to see that Harden only practiced when he wanted and was constantly late to practice. It was said that the amount of time they waited on Harden for film sessions was unbelievable. Apparently Chris Paul was feeling the same way. The phrase the reporter used was “chemistry killer”. Sam Presti would never admit it but he saw this coming, I’d bet on it.
 

thunderc

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Like someone said, that’s what unions do. I remember back during the mlb steroids stuff I often wondered how the players slept at night. One for letting their members do that to their bodies, but mainly for letting union members that weren’t breaking the rules be put at such a disadvantage by those willing to do so. This is the ugly side of unions.
 

trojanfan12

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Like someone said, that’s what unions do. I remember back during the mlb steroids stuff I often wondered how the players slept at night. One for letting their members do that to their bodies, but mainly for letting union members that weren’t breaking the rules be put at such a disadvantage by those willing to do so. This is the ugly side of unions.

That would be me.

They're like a defense attorney. A defense attorney may think/know that their client is guilty, but they are paid to put forth a defense. Not much different with a union.

My guess is that Harden will be still be fined, but it will be reduced.
 

fightinfunbags

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That would be me.

They're like a defense attorney. A defense attorney may think/know that their client is guilty, but they are paid to put forth a defense. Not much different with a union.

My guess is that Harden will be still be fined, but it will be reduced.
Yep. As a member of the union, he’s owed representation during a dispute. The legitimacy of the grievance isn’t even a factor in that decision to represent. Even if they don’t believe in the cause, they may prepare him for “we’re gonna try, but they kind of have us”, they’ll still stand up for him and make the argument. The most helpful thing the union can do at this point is go through the time table of the actions and say “here’s where you went wrong and here’s how you avoid this happening again.” Then they show him the work around to avoid the league action going forward.
 

tlance

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Just happened to be listening to local radio when a local reporter I really respect came on. The subject turned to James Harden and what kind of a team might actually want him. He said well I’m not going to say there isn’t a team out there, but I don’t know who it is. He then told a story, he said for the first time. He said he knew for a fact that Russell Westbrook was excited to go back to Houston to play with Harden. That excitement didn’t last long after he got there and was shocked to see that Harden only practiced when he wanted and was constantly late to practice. It was said that the amount of time they waited on Harden for film sessions was unbelievable. Apparently Chris Paul was feeling the same way. The phrase the reporter used was “chemistry killer”. Sam Presti would never admit it but he saw this coming, I’d bet on it.

Possible, but I am not sure I would bet your side of that action.

Harden was young with OKC. Odds are he wasn’t empowered to show his lazy side until he became a star in Houston.

And I would bet that Rockets culture and management failing to hold him accountable is what allowed him to turn into the chemistry killer he is today.
 

fightinfunbags

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Possible, but I am not sure I would bet your side of that action.

Harden was young with OKC. Odds are he wasn’t empowered to show his lazy side until he became a star in Houston.

And I would bet that Rockets culture and management failing to hold him accountable is what allowed him to turn into the chemistry killer he is today.
One of the reasons why I’m glad the Sixers didn’t even entertain the idea of hiring Mike Dantoni when Doc got fired. He would have let Harden run all over him again.
 

thunderc

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Possible, but I am not sure I would bet your side of that action.

Harden was young with OKC. Odds are he wasn’t empowered to show his lazy side until he became a star in Houston.

And I would bet that Rockets culture and management failing to hold him accountable is what allowed him to turn into the chemistry killer he is today.
There were rumblings around here that Presti just didn’t want to keep him around, and that’s kind of what he showed by not ponying up what would have been just a little more money. Probably not much at that point but I bet he saw some stuff to make the decision easier. Doesn’t matter now for sure, it is what it is and the what if will always be there. Harden has turned himself into a unicorn embarrassment wise now days though.
 

tlance

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There were rumblings around here that Presti just didn’t want to keep him around, and that’s kind of what he showed by not ponying up what would have been just a little more money. Probably not much at that point but I bet he saw some stuff to make the decision easier. Doesn’t matter now for sure, it is what it is and the what if will always be there. Harden has turned himself into a unicorn embarrassment wise now days though.

I kind of doubt Brooks would have done much better.

Would have been a different environment though. Harden wouldn’t have ever been the man on those teams.

The best teams always have their best player as their hardest worker. Just impossible to have good chemistry if a star is going through the motions in practice. It is easy to hold others accountable when the star isn’t trying to take shortcuts.
 

thunderc

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I kind of doubt Brooks would have done much better.

Would have been a different environment though. Harden wouldn’t have ever been the man on those teams.

The best teams always have their best player as their hardest worker. Just impossible to have good chemistry if a star is going through the motions in practice. It is easy to hold others accountable when the star isn’t trying to take shortcuts.
Yup, the story about Westbrook being shocked and unhappy pretty quickly rings true.
 

The Q

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Yup, the story about Westbrook being shocked and unhappy pretty quickly rings true.

Shouldn’t he have already known what he was getting into if what you’re saying is true?
 

thunderc

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Shouldn’t he have already known what he was getting into if what you’re saying is true?
From like 7 years earlier? No way Harden was this bad back then. On top of it all, Westbrook was very much used to having his way too, but work was not something he minded.
 
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