Sixers, James Harden mutually decide on having him sit out 76ers open scrimmage
Keith Pompey: #Sixers coach Nick Nurse on if it was a mutual decision to not have James Harden partake as a player or coach in the Blue X White Scrimmage and be introduced with his teammates: pic.twitter.com/QQAtXU7lqp – via Twitter PompeyOnSixers
Let’s hope he continues to disrupt them, all the way through the season 
But the plan to add draft-pick swaps in a package for Harden hasn’t moved the needle for the Sixers. They’ve said they’re interested in a package that includes Clippers guard Terance Mann and first-round picks. But the source said Morey knows Mann is untouchable. The Sixers are looking for an All-Star player or assets to acquire for Harden. That’s why draft-pick swaps may not be good enough. And word is that the Sixers don’t expect the picks from the Clippers, who need to stay relevant in a big market, to be that valuable, especially with them being a perennial playoff team. – via Keith Pompey @ The Philadelphia Inquirer
A LAC line up of Harden, Leonard, and George would be pretty good, if they all stay on the court. Mann is a nice player, but he isn't taking the Clippers anywhere. This makes no sense that he would be the hold up for a trade. I get that PHI doesn't want to just give Harden away but he hasn't been all that good the last few seasons, at least not consistently, and with the drama around him, they are not going to get even a Jrue Holiday level deal (2 good players, two firsts).
LAC is going to fall off a cliff soon in any case, why not go all in with Harden and at least go down fighting?
It's funny, I'm not entirely disagreeing with you here.
But I am asking myself how I could think this is even possible when we're discussing the guy who led the NBA in assists last season.
Are assists just not as meaningful of a stat any more?
I should have said not all that good relative to his MVP caliber play earlier in his career. He is still a good player, inconsistent though. He carried the Sixers to a win over the Celtics without Embiid and was great, then wasn't that great for several games. He probably doesn't have the value of Holiday, much less someone like Mitchell. MEM gave up 2 firsts and a useful player for Smart. I think PHI would be happy with that. That isn't saying he is bad, but he hasn't been that great the last couple of season.
As to assists, you don't want to get me started. But I will say that Rondo got a lot of assists. Pounding the ball until you find either a shot or a wide open player is not the best thing for team offense. It is better if the shot comes after a few passes, not just one pass. Harden is a good passer, he can attract attention and deliver the ball. But to rack up that number of assists, you need to dominate the ball. Dominating the ball has a downside. Not all assists are created equal.
Harden won't get that kind of return because he is an old guy on a large expiring contract that has caused issues off the floor on basically every team he has been on. Not because of skill, but the other things.
I think it is all of the above, including the drop off in his skill. I think a big issue is that his style of play dictates how the whole team has to play. I thought he made a real conscience effort to defer to Embiid when he got to PHI, that is part of why his assists were up relative to his time in Houston. But he is still very ball dominant.
Attitude or commitment does seem to be an issue. He seemed all in when he got traded to PHI, at least on the court, but off the court, you wondered about his preparation. He always seemed to be nursing an injury, which maybe could have been prevented or minimized with better off season or in season physical preparation.
But I do not think that Harden is an MVP level player any more. I don't know what number or ranking he would be but it is down considerably from say 3-4 years ago. I am sure that if he gets to LAC, he will continue to play the facilitator, to make the effort to get the ball to Leonard and George. And he will be good at that. But what is there that would make you think things will be any better for him or the team than what happened in BKN or PHI? I predict that he will still produce numbers inflated by ball dominance, that he will have flashes of MVP level play, but that for the most part, he will play like a pretty good #2 like in PHI, and the team won't be all that much better.
Topic: 2024 NBA Season and Playoffs (Read 510134 times)