One thing I give the Houston Rockets credit for is not giving into the temptation to chase James Harden like that. I would say that they had a decent offseason maybe, though it kinda sucks that they traded KJ Martin, and I also doubt how effective Fred VanVleet will be in terms of actually running point alongside all those young, chuckin' gunners. But those are analyses for another day.
Sometimes, it's hard to figure out exactly what these superstars want. When the Sixers traded for Harden a couple of years ago, I thought that was a big mistake. My argument was that the Beard chucks too much to benefit the other players in Philly. Instead he turned around and, what, led the league in assists? And the Sixers came within a game of making it to the ECF.
Philly remains, as they have been for so many years now, contenders. And even though the road hasn't been perfect (why did they trade Thybulle again?), that's a standard to build on, not destroy. The Lakers made it all the way to the WCF, but no one in their right mind was calling them contenders. Meanwhile Philly failed to make ECF, but they're still more highly regarded than LAL.
So if you know the Beard is going to be around for at least two more years, you can really start to think about adding more players to complement this core. Truth be told, I wouldn't mind Tyrese Maxey finally becoming the alpha G of this team either. I'm sure he could've made the allstar team, like Tyrese Haliburton, if he actually had the opportunity like that, i.e. being handed the keys to the car.
When I first started writing this article a couple of weeks ago, my question was that now that the Rockets didn't want him back, what other team did Harden intend to go to? That question has since been answered, as he reportedly wants to go to the Clippers, and the Clippers only. That trade would sorta makes sense from Philly's perspective because LAC always seems to have more quality players than they can actually use, so the Sixers would at least get two rotational pieces back (that they may not actually need anyway). Also, whereas Harden + Kawhi + PG13 may read like overkill on paper, that trio would kinda makes sense, because you can always count on at least one of them being on the injured list during critical junctures.
But damn, don't the Clippers already have enough guards? That's a problem a lot of teams are looking to have this coming season - a whole lotta backcourt presence though not enough frontcourt. Also, I think it's safe to say that the Clippers are like never going to win a championship. A month or two from now, when the season is about to begin, of course I'm going to rank them amongst the top contenders "if healthy". But damn, now that the Nuggets have finally won a championship, LAC can be considered the unluckiest team when it comes to injuries in the NBA.
A SIMILAR SITUATION FOR LILLARD
One big difference between the Damian Lillard's and James Harden's situation is that unlike the Sixers, the Trailblazers haven't looked like true contenders for a long, long time. And no one, including Dame obviously, is expecting them to win a championship anytime soon. And I actually support the idea of Lillard going to the Heat. But if not Miami, then where else?
There are some other squads I can think of where I believe Dame would be an excellent fit, such as the Bucks. I also advocated the Sixers trading for him back when all that Ben Simmons' drama was going on. But if a trade like that does proceed to go down, as in Lillard going to a contender, obviously it's not going to be anytime soon. But at least, as generally understood, the Heat want Damian also. In fact they already let a couple of quality players walk, reportedly in anticipation of being able to afford Dame, and if that doesn't work out then it's like they lost continuity and above-average role players for nothing.
And that's one of the dilemma with these stars player, that they get paid so much that it becomes nigh impossible to trade them. Or let's say that if you're making $40+ million a year, like Lillard is, then why on earth are you demanding a trade to begin with? You know what I'm saying? Like you're making $40 million, fuk else do you want? A trophy?
And to illustrate why I believe Dame should be grateful and keep his ass put (also a trade with Miami can be worked out), take the case of the late, great Kobe Bryant. During the last few years of his career, after the failed Nash + Howard + Black Mamba experiment, the Lakers were absolutely awful. Kobe, one of the greatest players in NBA history not only in terms of talent but also winningness, was stuck on a team basically filled with young, developing players and scabs.
By contrast, at leas the Blazers are competitive in Lillard's latter NBA years. In fact, they may even be just one right piece away from contending, though if they did find that right player, they probably couldn't afford to pay him to begin with.
CONCLUSION
All of this player movement in the NBA is both exciting and debilitating at the same time. It's exciting because we get to see many of our favorite players play alongside more of our favorite players, like a videogame or some shit. But it's debilitating because in a way, it's making the league less entertaining.
Back in the old days, when a certain team came to town you knew who and what you were going to get. I don't think anyone outside of Utah really expected the Jazz to ever beat the Bulls. But you had to appreciate teams like the Malone + Stockton Jazz because, whether or not they ever won a championship, you knew that year after year they were going to contend.
That's how it is when you're able to actually build and maintain a roster. You can have a really good team that never takes home the Larry O'Brien, but you appreciate that they're good and therefore entertaining. If a particular team goes on to become a dynasty still they need quality competition, or else it becomes boring.
Nowadays if dudes don't win a championship they start whining, desert the squad they already committed to, thus making it less competitive in the process, and then going to another team with no guarantee that squad will even contend. It's sorta like, say, what Kawhi did to the Raptors. If he had stayed, Toronto would be must-watch to this day. But instead, it's like now both they and the Clippers are unappealing at times.
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