12.09.2020

Sports Corner: Houston, We Have A Problem

 


First and foremost, we’re back and it feels pretty damn good to post again and get the show moving. Thanks for being so patient and hanging in there with us. 


This is the first post for our new label, aptly titled Sports Corner. This is where we’ll be giving you the good old fashioned barbershop vibe when it comes to discussing sports, athletes and their business. It won’t always be pretty and some things may be said that you won’t agree with, but it will always be genuine and comical, to say the least. Send your emails and comments and let us know how you feel about it, or if you have any ideas for topics. 


Let’s get right into this James Harden “situation” with Houston. If you’ve been paying attention over the past week or so, you know that Harden has requested to be traded from Houston, citing Brooklyn as his desired primary destination. Long story short, Houston isn’t in any position to feel as if they should trade Harden, as he still has a couple of years left on his contract and lacks some serious leverage, at the moment. Secondly, Houston would basically only be able to get future picks and a bevy of bums and role players from BK, as we all know that the Nets are not going to give any of their decent pieces up for Harden. And why should they? They’re primed to be in the Top 3 squads in the East this upcoming season, right along with both Milwaukee and Philly. 


And speaking of Philly, as of yesterday, word is, that Harden has now added Philly to his list of teams he would be willing to be traded to. Now the sticky and awkward thing about this, is that the Sixers’ current President of Basketball Operations, is Harden’s old GM from Houston, Daryl Morey. Morey resigned from the Rockets’ role in October and said he needed to take some time away from the game, only to take the job in Philly like a week and change later. He was instrumental in trading for Harden and bringing him to Houston, and during his tenure as GM in Houston, he posted the second most wins in the league from 2007-2020, only being beat out by the Spurs. Since he brought Harden to Houston, he had the third most wins, only trailing San Antonio and, of course, Golden State. That’s not too shabby, at all.  


So Morey is in a little bit of a pickle now, as he is currently looking at a promising season with both (hopefully) a healthy Joel Embiid and a newly-inspired Ben Simmons. Not to mention the addition of a legend at the coaching helm, Doc Rivers. The only way Philly would be able to secure Harden, would be to give up Simmons, who’s arguably the future of the league, should he ever develop a jump-shot. And at only 24, would it even be smart to give him up for a dude who seems to run every superstar teammate out of town that doesn’t mesh well with his game? I honestly don’t know if trading Simmons would be worth it in the long run. Houston desperately wants Harden to stay, as they’ve recently added Boogie Cousins and John Wall to the mix, and have shipped out an erratic Russell Westbrook, who was pretty much a bust for them, in the one season they had him. 


In an interview yesterday, KD was asked about the possibility of his former teammate Harden joining he and Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn, and his response was, “I don’t think about James Harden, at all. I mean, he doesn’t play on our team.” I don’t want to assume anything, but that doesn’t exactly sound like anyone in BK is rolling out a red carpet or campaigning for Harden to come out there to build the league’s newest “Big 3” iteration. So where does that leave us? If I had to guess, I would say that Harden starts the season back in Houston, but I would surely keep an eye out for some sort of deal with Philly. Wall and Harden running together sounds like a recipe for disaster, as they’re both into having the ball in their hands. I think Harden in Philly would make way more sense than him going out to BK and reeling his game in to share the ball with Kyrie and KD. Philly loves Ben Simmons, and I love him out there too, but I think they would move him, however reluctantly, if that meant that they could land James Harden. 


Things are going to be very interesting this upcoming season, and this Harden ordeal is definitely one to keep watching. I could be wrong, but I think some sort of deal goes down with Philly and Houston, at some point. Stay tuned.. 





Artwork Credit: Hicks Graphics

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