2019-2020 NBA Season Thread

[EricaLubarsky]

https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2020/12...AKj5RDsNEzbAC8

[Thespiralgoeson]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2020/12...AKj5RDsNEzbAC8

God, what a tool. And right after all those reports about how the Rockets wanted to keep him too. Which I never believed. I assume those were bullsh*t PR spin to help their bargaining position when they inevitably trade him. But here he is damaging his own trade value and screwing his team even further.

[EricaLubarsky]

Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson

God, what a tool. And right after all those reports about how the Rockets wanted to keep him too. Which I never believed. I assume those were bullsh*t PR spin to help their bargaining position when they inevitably trade him. But here he is damaging his own trade value and screwing his team even further.

Things that get me.

1) He's actually ruining the image of the NBA. People are sick of primadonnas like that and he's actively hurting not only his own image but the image of the entire league in a time when the NBA needs some good PR. Viewership is down and $ is down and this guy chooses this year to pull this stunt?

2) His mom supports him? "Oh, he's done nothing wrong. He just wants a ring." His mom needs to spank that ass raw and tell him that he's being a little @#%, not justifying his infantile behavior. This ring-chasing has to stop. It actively hurts the NBA when players have more power.

3) He's publicly partying and violating the NBA rules and what has the NBA done? Nothing? He's just limited to individual practices, but he's not even showing up to those?

4) He's doing all this to screw the Rockets so they'll have to sell low on him to a team of his choice. The whole thing just makes me furious. As much as I hate the Rockets, I actually think they're the victim of this one and I feel a little bad for them. Their fan base deserves it, but there's part of me that's like "man, that would suck to be a Rockets fan"

[DevinHarriswillstart]

I do like the Butler and Davis comparisons as such examples set a really bad precedent in the league. Both of those players just went to the NBA finals. So now superstars can just force their way to a ring willy nilly.

But at least Davis, while wrongfully scheming behind the scenes, wasn't trashing the Pelicans the way Harden is now trashing the Rockets. But at the same time, we all knew who Harden was and is. He has partied before big games for years.

But what did Houston expect? They just ran their coach and gm out of franchise. You think any superstar would be totally cool with that? And when it was painfully obvious that both Westbrook and Harden wanted out, they COMPLETELY ignored it for a while like it would just magically go away.

Now they have no choice but to trade Harden as soon as possible.

[Bryan_Wilson]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

Things that get me.

Their fan base deserves it, but there's part of me that's like "man, that would suck to be a Rockets fan"

I feel you, and at the same time it's easy for me to not feel bad for Rockets fans when... they blamed DH12 for why they lost, blamed role players, blamed mcfail, blamed cp3, blamed dantoni, blamed rwb... and now I keep seeing them blame the owner. If he does stay for a year before being traded it will be the new gm's fault because he traded for wall. At some point it would be really something if those fans could maybe blame the guy who is basically telling the other players who are working hard- "Yeah I don't care, I'm going to do what I want because- beard". The same guy who started this whole mess in the first place wanting cp3 then russ future assets be damned. I'm sure there are some fans who are not defending Harden, and those 5 or maybe 6 people I do feel for. But there are so many idiot fans running to his defense still... It's truly mind blowing. I'd recommend going to their forum and playing a drinking game called "media narrative"(take a shot every time one of them bitches about some mass media conspiracy against Houston... like anyone even cares about Houston enough to do such a thing) except id basically be responsible for alcohol poisoning to anyone who dared try it.

I also think there is no way players around the league are going to be supporting this if it keeps going on. If anyone thinks the owners won't remember this for the next CBA negotiations they are delusional. So I agree it sets a bad image for the NBA but worse, this will impact other players more than it will Harden. Which is exactly why it blows my mind some Houston fans are defending him and finding yet another place to put the blame.

[Thespiralgoeson]

The ring chasing honestly doesn't bother me. I feel like its an inevitable byproduct of the "anything less than a championship is failure" culture that the media and fans have created over the years. Its fairy unique to the NBA too.

I'm very much pro player empowerment. I generally think that players should be able to go where they want, and I actually think the league should make it easier, not harder, to trade players and get out of bad contracts etc... I hate seeing great players waste their careers on sh*tty teams, and I actually want to see great players play together. And frankly I don't see any logical or ethical reason why players shouldn't be able to communicate with each other and decide where they want to go. The complaints seem to usually boil down to people just not liking it.

The Harden thing feels different though. Forcing a trade is one thing, but not showing up to training camp? Sabotaging your team like this? It's just unethical. Then add on the images of him clearly ignoring pandemic protocol, and it just makes him, and yes the NBA, look really bad.

And usually when players force a trade, they've been rotting away on bad teams. The franchise has failed them in some way. It usually comes after years of frustration, and years of the player giving everything he has while the management is just incompetent. That is objectively not true with the Rockets. They've been tremendously successful and have catered everything to him. And what's more, if they're in bad shape right now, HE is the reason for it. He's the one who forced the Paul-Westbrook trade- which in retrospect really looks like one of the worse trades in NBA history. No exaggeration. I'm trying to think of other trades that completely destroyed a perennial title contender. There's not many.

[Thespiralgoeson]

Harden is apparently now saying's open to a Sixers trade, after previously only saying Nets. I think it's inevitable now. Harden for Simmons and some change.

[EricaLubarsky]

Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson

Harden is apparently now saying's open to a Sixers trade, after previously only saying Nets. I think it's inevitable now. Harden for Simmons and some change.

Honestly hope he goes to the Knicks and rots there

[sefant77]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

Honestly hope he goes to the Knicks and rots there

I would turn into a borderline Rockets fan if they bench His ass for two years

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Poor Silas...

https://twitter.com/TheNBACentral/st...75481052590086

[EricaLubarsky]

Simmons thinks Harden will go to Philly for Simmons

I personally think he should get kicked from the league for behavior like that.

[BPo001]

Along with the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets, Houston Rockets star James Harden now also has the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat among his preferred trade destinations, sources with knowledge have told The Athletic.

[EricaLubarsky]

Originally Posted by BPo001

Along with the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets, Houston Rockets star James Harden now also has the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat among his preferred trade destinations, sources with knowledge have told The Athletic.

God I hate hearing about Harden.

[Thespiralgoeson]

Originally Posted by BPo001

Along with the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets, Houston Rockets star James Harden now also has the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat among his preferred trade destinations, sources with knowledge have told The Athletic.

I still think it almost has to be Philly. Simmons is by far and away the best player they can get back in any Harden deal. It's just a matter of if Philly wants to make the deal. Morey has apparently said they don't want to trade Simmons and they want to keep him and Embiid together, but I feel like that's just posturing so they don't give up picks or whatever.

It's a no-brainer for Houston, but for Philly it's tricky. From a pure talent and X's an O's perspective, I feel like you almost have to get Harden if you can. He's still a top 5 or 6 player and I think he would fit with Embiid far better than Simmons... in theory. The problem is Harden's personality. Is he going to burn out with Embiid the same way he did with Howard, Paul, and Westbrook? And of course he's a lot older than Simmons, so even if he gives you a better chance at a title, the window is also shorter.

If I were running the Sixers I probably would make the trade because I really don't think Embiid and Simmons will ever win a title together, and I think Harden and Embiid might. But I would offer nothing of value outside of Simmons. No picks or any players that I actually like. Simmons + salary filler and that's it. If the Rockets won't take that deal, then they can trade Harden somewhere else for a bunch of protected picks and so-so young players that aren't near Simmons' level.

[Bryan_Wilson]

Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson

I still think it almost has to be Philly. Simmons is by far and away the best player they can get back in any Harden deal. It's just a matter of if Philly wants to make the deal. Morey has apparently said they don't want to trade Simmons and they want to keep him and Embiid together, but I feel like that's just posturing so they don't give up picks or whatever.

It's a no-brainer for Houston, but for Philly it's tricky. From a pure talent and X's an O's perspective, I feel like you almost have to get Harden if you can. He's still a top 5 or 6 player and I think he would fit with Embiid far better than Simmons... in theory. The problem is Harden's personality. Is he going to burn out with Embiid the same way he did with Howard, Paul, and Westbrook? And of course he's a lot older than Simmons, so even if he gives you a better chance at a title, the window is also shorter.

If I were running the Sixers I probably would make the trade because I really don't think Embiid and Simmons will ever win a title together, and I think Harden and Embiid might. But I would offer nothing of value outside of Simmons. No picks or any players that I actually like. Simmons + salary filler and that's it. If the Rockets won't take that deal, then they can trade Harden somewhere else for a bunch of protected picks and so-so young players that aren't near Simmons' level.

What is the rule about for signing extensions during a season? Can Harden sign an extension as part of a trade agreement with Philly? Because I wouldn't even trade Simmons for Harden straight if I don't get an extension inked. And honestly I think Embiid would loathe playing with Harden. Embiid will not love watching Harden dribble the air out of the ball.

I totally agree Simmons and Embiid don't fit but I also think if I was looking for a star to pair with Embiid I'd rather go for like a Dame Lillard if he was available(since he isn't now I would hold serve and wait for a better option than a disgruntled Harden). Or strangely enough if I wanted to move on from Embiid I'd work out a package with Utah and getting Gobert just because he needs the ball less and might open up some more control for Simmons. Utah would need to give me more than just Gobert and I would need to add some firepower because I'm not a Tobias Harris fan.

It's weird because Harden is undeniably a better player than Embiid or Simmons but I wouldn't want to build around him at all.

[FreshJive]

I figured Morey wanted out of Houston to get away from Harden, but I guess it may have been Fertitta that he was done with.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

This is why it's hard to ever feel sorry for the players. Most undeserved max extension in the history of max extensions...

https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1337098777807745028

[Bryan_Wilson]

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

This is why it's hard to ever feel sorry for the players. Most undeserved max extension in the history of max extensions...

https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1337098777807745028

Makes sense. Guy plays like total shit in the playoffs as per his entire career previously, then he takes no accountability, then reports of him and Kawhi getting special treatment leak out, and finally he rips his former coach and blames the entire team and his own performance inadequacies on the coach after the coach was fired. And is rewarded with full max extension.

lol.

[EricaLubarsky]

Kyrie refuses to do online media day because of Covid, even though it’s digital

Responds to his fine with “I do not talk to pawns. My attention is worth more”

Does the dude know that he’s an entertainer in an entertainment industry?

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

Kyrie refuses to do online media day because of Covid, even though it’s digital

Responds to his fine with “I do not talk to pawns. My attention is worth more”

Does the dude know that he’s an entertainer in an entertainment industry?

He has always been nuts. NBA is at a crossroads with crap like this and Harden. Players can have the power, but the abuse can't be tolerated.

[EricaLubarsky]

Yeah.

He also prayed that the 25k would help communities of color

1) don’t pray. Come to media day and use your celebrity to draw attention to it
2) you just got a $136million contract. Just donate, bruh.

[BPo001]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

Yeah.

He also prayed that the 25k would help communities of color

1) don’t pray. Come to media day and use your celebrity to draw attention to it
2) you just got a $136million contract. Just donate, bruh.

Seriously. If you want to see your money goes towards that type of thing than make a donation. Don’t pray on it. Kyrie is one strange dude.

[Bryan_Wilson]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

Yeah.

He also prayed that the 25k would help communities of color

1) don’t pray. Come to media day and use your celebrity to draw attention to it
2) you just got a $136million contract. Just donate, bruh.

Ahhh. I see he was fined a flat 25k for his comments.






I'll be here all night.

[FreshJive]

Isn’t he the Vice President of the Player’s Association? He knows where the money goes.

He’s like those people on social media who purposely say something controversial to provoke angry responses, and then complain about the outrage. OMG RIP my phone I’m gonna have to lock my account! all these incels, MAgas, libtards, terfs, Bernie bros WTF!!!