The Nets are James Harden's Only Good Option

Editor’s note: Minutes after Ty submitted his article, James Harden was traded to the Brooklyn Nets. Ty will have thoughts on the trade tomorrow.

James Harden did pretty much everything he could last night to get what he wants.

Harden wants out of Houston, he wants to go to the 76ers or the Nets and he made that abundantly clear in his post game press conference. He even ended it by saying he did everything he could for the team, and then he just left. This press conference was pretty loaded. Let’s discuss.

First off, "everything he could" for that team? He led them to the West Finals once (although Chris Paul was much more integral to that team), and he blew it. He played horribly against the Spurs when they were without Kawhi in a game 6 that ended Houston's season. He had great regular seasons and terrible postseasons. I mean, if that was "everything he could" do, Houston should have no problem, or no qualms, trading him. He did not get to the Finals, he won one MVP, he consistently demanded trades for stars, who he then immediately clashed with, and he does not know how to play true basketball anymore. Don't get me wrong, Harden is an all time great scorer. I won't say player, but as far as scoring goes, he revolutionized the game. But he is no fun to watch, and I would hate playing with him, as did Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook and now John Wall and Boogie Cousins.

Harden also seems selfish. He always wants the ball, wants things his way and if he doesn't like what is going on, he will just refuse, or do things that make it nearly impossible to keep him. I thought Houston would do a lot to keep him, and he even started out playing okay basketball. But this past week he has fallen way off, and he looks disinterested. Quite frankly, even if I were a contending team that needed a scorer, I would not actively pursue Harden. The asking price is far too much, he doesn't play defense, he has had the past six years plus playing the exact way he wants to, and I would not expect him to re-sign with my team in the next two years. Whatever team trades for him, and it may happen today, is going to pay a steep price, and I think they will regret it sooner rather than later.

The four teams that have been kicked around are the Raptors, Celtics, 76ers and Nets. Lets just wipe the Celtics and Raptors off that list. Their GM's are too smart, they won't give up young up and coming stars and they will not trade a massive amount of picks for him. I would also not want to pair Harden with either Jayson Tatum or Pascal Siakim. That would just diminish all their personal gains as top options. The 76ers is an interesting exercise, but I would not want them to do that to Joel Embiid. Embiid is playing some of the best basketball of his life right now. Simmons is doing what he does best, Danny Green and Seth Curry, along with Tyrese Maxey are providing the shooting they need and Doc Rivers has this team looking solid. I don't think I'd want to mess with that right now. The 76ers, maybe, just maybe, have found out what type of team they want to be, and they seem to be maximizing that. I also would not trade Simmons, who is, I believe, eight years younger than Harden. He has way more potential, and I would not want anything to happen to my man Joel Embiid. The 76ers should stand pat in my opinion.

This leaves us with the Nets. The Nets have two stars, Kyrie and KD, but who in the world knows what is going on with Kyrie right now. Hell, I don't think Stephen A Smith was out of bounds in saying he should retire. Kyrie has other interests, and he is clearly politically active, maybe he should go do that for a while. He may find he loves that. He doesn't need basketball in his life anymore, at least that is how it seems to me. But KD is back, and he has looked pretty good. He is looking more and more like himself. He is as dangerous as ever on offense, and his defense is getting back up to speed. I watched a little of the Nets-Nuggets game last night because I have not seen KD play yet this year, and he did look good. I also like the other guys the Nets have. Joe Harris is a solid 3 and D player. Both Jarrett Allen and Deandre Jordan have been solid pick and roll guys, and Allen is a dominant rim protector. Caris Levert has been feasting on second units, and he is a third shot creator, which is great for this team. Taurean Prince seems to be doing a little better. So, if I were the Nets, would I risk my future, hell they may have to mortgage it, just to have Harden for two years?

This is where I balk a little. Harden has played with KD, but that was a lifetime ago. They are two totally different players now. What if Kyrie wants to come back? Who runs point then? Would this relegate a guy like Levert or Prince to miniscule minutes? Would Harden be willing to change his style of play? There are a ton of questions, but Harden is an all time great scorer. You don't just hang up the phone if the Rockets come calling, But I think there are just far, far too many questions. Also, do the Nets want to do almost the exact same thing they did when they traded for KG and Paul Pierce? Are they willing to be really good for 2-3 years, then have to rebuild all over again?

I just don't know. I do not know that I would trade that much just to get a disgruntled James Harden. I guess time will tell. Maybe we will have an answer soon.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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