Everything Off Season

[Shredder]

So Harden has yet to join a team practice and has been caught hanging out at strip clubs the past couple of nights. So the Rockets are going to be a complete gong show this year.

When they got Wall I thought it was more for Cousins (college teammates). Then they would try to haul everything else they could from the nets for Harden. Levert, Dinwiddie, Luwawu-Cabarrot, Allen, Prince, Shamet, etc.

Throw in a couple of draft picks to replace the ones that went to OKC for Paul. I think a deal gets done sooner than later.

[golden]

Yeah, l think this 2020 roster is even stronger than the 2017 team that won 59 games under Casey.

Half the teams in the East were tanking during the whole Casey era. The Atlantic Division, especially, was an all-time joke, and we got to play those teams 4 times a year.

[slaw]

So Harden has yet to join a team practice and has been caught hanging out at strip clubs the past couple of nights. So the Rockets are going to be a complete gong show this year.

If Harden wants out then fine but he is behaving selfishly and childishly. The NBA is star driven and the league has embraced a powerful player model, which is all fine, but every one of these instances turns off a few fans and the instances are becoming more frequent and higher profile. Eventually, it is going to damage the league if it hasn't already.

[Maury]

The way Harden is behaving is leaving a really, really bad taste in my mouth. Even though it was unlikely to begin with, I don't think the Raptors should trade for Harden anymore. I'm all for trading for distressed assets just like Masai did with Kawhi, but Kawhi's issues were not the same as Harden's are.

[G__Deane]

So Harden has yet to join a team practice and has been caught hanging out at strip clubs the past couple of nights. So the Rockets are going to be a complete gong show this year.

Maybe he's just having wings with Lou Williams

[Demographic Shift]

I suspect he gets to beyond where he was. He had trouble with the pressure of being the prime target for other teams best defenders. I believe it shook him and messed with his confidence. He has had time to digest it and will approach this year's regular season like a tune-up for the playoffs. He will be working on solutions to last season's playoff problems every game. And I am certain he will solve a lot of them.

I hope you are right on Pascal. If he can become a more fluid player. That’s what separates Tatum from him right now.Tatum is smoother and can get his shot. Pascal needs to get there. If he does then we will get to watch two of the best big wing players in the East for the next 5 years. Which is forever in NBA terms.

[S.R.]

I hope you are right on Pascal. If he can become a more fluid player. That’s what separates Tatum from him right now.Tatum is smoother and can get his shot. Pascal needs to get there. If he does then we will get to watch two of the best big wing players in the East for the next 5 years. Which is forever in NBA terms.

I don't know if Tatum has It. You see what he can do - pretty well anything. But he doesn't impose himself on games consistently enough. He doesn't lead his team. He reminds me a fair bit of AD, all the talent in the world but got a feeling he might need to be a 2nd banana.

He is still young, we'll see.
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[LJ2]

The problem for Houston isn't that Harden wants out. It's that he doesn't want to go anywhere but the Nets or Philly. He'd already be traded if he was open to going to a team that has some assets Houston wanted.

[Jclaw]

We could copy and paste the same comments here every pre-season. The Raptors, essentially a perennial 50+ win team in the current era.....

How many people are betting the over this year?

[LJ2]

How many people are betting the over this year?

That's tough to do with a 72 game season.

[G__Deane]

That's tough to do with a 72 game season.

They won 53 out of 72 last season....exact same number of games planned for this year.

[Demographic Shift]

I don't know if Tatum has It. You see what he can do - pretty well anything. But he doesn't impose himself on games consistently enough. He doesn't lead his team. He reminds me a fair bit of AD, all the talent in the world but got a feeling he might need to be a 2nd banana.

He is still young, we'll see.
​​​​​

Unfortunately that SOB is going to be in our division for the next 10 years.
Now that Hayward is gone... He and Brown are the guys.
To me.. Brown is the guts of the team but Tatum will be the guy they go to to put up points when the Chowders need them.
I give the nod to Pascal on defense and to Tatum on offense.
If Pascal can close the gap on offense with a more fluid ISO game... We are going to be in business for a long time.

[inthepaint]

The problem for Houston isn't that Harden wants out. It's that he doesn't want to go anywhere but the Nets or Philly. He'd already be traded if he was open to going to a team that has some assets Houston wanted.

Well, does he have a no-trade clause or something? I may be wrong but If he doesn't have a no-trade and Houston wants to ship his ass out of there they should be able to send him to wherever they want (which would be the team giving the best return, regardless of what Harden thinks). Kinda like what the Spurs did when they shipped Kawhi who was disgruntled there. Now, if he has a no-trade clause and will only waive it if the trade is with Philly/Nets, then yeah it's harder for the team.

[LJ2]

Well, does he have a no-trade clause or something? I may be wrong but If he doesn't have a no-trade and Houston wants to ship his ass out of there they should be able to send him to wherever they want (which would be the team giving the best return, regardless of what Harden thinks). Kinda like what the Spurs did when they shipped Kawhi who was disgruntled there. Now, if he has a no-trade clause and will only waive it if the trade is with Philly/Nets, then yeah it's harder for the team.

The problem is that other teams may not want to give up assets for an unhappy player that won't show up for practice or be a problem in the locker room. He may also bolt as soon as he is eligible. Remember nobody else was willing to give up anything of value for Kawhi except for Toronto. Worked out great for us, but that's due to Kawhi being a pro and doing his job despite not getting his wish to go to LA. No regrets from Raps fans in making the Kawhi deal, but I wonder what the feeling would have been if we didn't win it all and Kawhi left like he did?

[G__Deane]

The problem is that other teams may not want to give up assets for an unhappy player that won't show up for practice or be a problem in the locker room. He may also bolt as soon as he is eligible. Remember nobody else was willing to give up anything of value for Kawhi except for Toronto. Worked out great for us, but that's due to Kawhi being a pro and doing his job despite not getting his wish to go to LA. No regrets from Raps fans in making the Kawhi deal, but I wonder what the feeling would have been if we didn't win it all and Kawhi left like he did?

I think most fans would be OK that they took a shot that didn't work out but understand we weren't going anywhere with DeMar/Kyle anyway. It would take away a bit of the small likelihood that Giannis would come here too imo, Kyle would be a bit less well thought of (traded by now?) and Masai would be less of a small g god, having simply drafted OG/Pascal and .... Bruno Caboclo.

Funny how things work out.