If Harden is simply holding out bc he doesnt want to honor his contract... what to do?

If the Rockets get a good deal for him, fine, trade him.

If not, the Rockets said they were ok with things getting uncomfortable so let that happen. I seriously doubt Harden misses a game once he realizes staying away isn't getting him traded.

 

This is a good point. They did say they were okay with things getting uncomfortable. Well. Here we are!

 

Here's my two cents:

- There's a collective bargaining agreement between the players and the league. The Rockets can only do what's allowed by the CBA.

- Every pro league that I know of has a date where players have to report or than can be suspended for the remainder of the season and more importantly not be credited with a year of service. That would mean that you are no closer to becoming a free agent. It's like that year didn't happen and whatever years of service you had remaining are still there. If the Texans had not traded Clowney then he would have reported just before the comparable deadline in the NFL so that he would have still been a FA at the end of the year. Everyone including the Texans knew this but that was a different situation since the Texans weren't willing to invest a lot of money in Clowney.

In the NBA, that date is 30 days after the start of the season.

- Players and their agents are aware of these rules Most of the time they will report prior to that date in order to receive a year of service. The Rocket can fine Harden for missing practices and any games that he would miss. That's not much of a deterrent for Harden as he's been on a Super Max player for a while and has huge endorsement deals.

If I had to guess, I'd expect Harden to report in the next few days. If he really wanted to try and force things, he could wait and report a month after the season starts. As long as he reports prior to the 30 day mark in the season, the Rockets owe him $40M ( minus any fines).

- As I said, I expect Harden to report in the next week. Once he does report, I also expect him to go out and do his best. He did a mini version of this last year when teams reported to the bubble, right? He wasn't there the first day but rolled in a few days later.

- For those advocating to bench him, I'd recommend a quick review of who owns the team. I can't see TF paying Harden $80M to not play for two years. That's simply not going to happen. If you're not going to play him then you trade him and get something back though it won't be fair value. Paying $80M to bench him out of spite is just bad business.

-The issue is going to remain the same as it is now - it's going to be difficult to swing a deal that satisfies all parties. Harden isn't going to want to play for a non-contender. That means that a non-contender wouldn't offer much for him since they'd have little chance of him resigning there. A young star and lots of picks would be the way to go but not a lot of contenders have that to offer and would be willing to do it (i.e. Dallas isn't trading Luca and Philly doesn't have any high picks). Additionally, that contender is going to have be able to take on Harden's $40M salary. That would potentially mean bad contacts coming back just for salary matching purposes. Theoretically, you could find a 3rd party to eat some of that salary but you're going to have to pay for that to happen too.

My personal opinion, which means absolutely nothing, is that you have to keep him this year and hope he changes his mind. Otherwise, we're going to get pennies on the dollar in return. I don't think that deals are going to get any better at the trade deadline and I don't think that the contenders are going to all of a sudden have available young talent or high draft picks to include. A "good but not great" player and low first round picks ( regardless of how many you get) isn't a fair return.

Next years's FA class is very good and teams have been setting themselves up to have lots of cap space. If things don't work out them maybe there's some other opportunities for deals next off season because of all of that available cap space.

 

As I said, didn't we just do this last July in Orlando?

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id...r-james-harden-arrives-orlando-five-days-team

 

I really hate how the NBA has now become players holding their franchises hostage and are demanding what they want. This really did start with Lebron I think and has now spiraled out of control.

 

what difference does replacing him mean when you don’t have your own picks? If anything it’s better for Tilman. He doesn’t have to pay Harden while keeping his cap number on the books meaning he automatically hits the salary floor every year.

 

This is a huge moment for the league. If Harden can just sit out with 2 years on his contract it makes contacts worthless.

 

its not about Silas. he has no confidence in the front office at this point and probably doesnt think tillman will spend what it takes....and even if he is NOW, because the situation we are already in it would take time to turn it around and acquire what is necessary.....james does not have that time to wait. it seems like the fact Mike D and Morey are gone is upsetting to him, which is why he wants to join them in brooklyn or philly.

it just doesnt feel like we are going in the right direction after being close to a title a couple years ago. yes he is under contract, but when he signed Im sure he saw us going in a positive direction and now his legacy is on the line and this ship is sinking. people he trusted are gone so can you blame him for feeling like he needs to do with now ? kawhi forced his way out, title the very next season. AD forced his way out. TITLE. im not saying its right but seeing as how he is OLDER than both of them i can definitely understand. those two dont even have the pressure and hate james does. he is constantly bashed even with his all world stats. he needs it more than anyone for his legacy. his pressure is almost lebron level.

 

Woods
Simmons
X
Gordon
Wall
With a bunch of young energetic guys

 

Trade him for KLAY . . . AMIRITE?

Rocket River

 

Simmons > Klay

 

Not really anything new. Moses Malone forced his way to Philly. Barkley forced his way out of Philly. Even Steve Francis refused to play in Vancouver.

 

if he never showed up again, he would still be contracted to Houston for those extra years until he honors them. he can't simply sit them out

 

Let him retire. He doesnt accrue years of service until he shows up and he owes the Rockets two years of service.

 

This is the season where not having a box office attraction matters

 

Some Grizzled perspective, well said sir.

DD

 

Pretty much agree with everything here.

Just want to reiterate a couple points I've previously made in other threads:

There's very little chance of an NBA star holding out a season or more in the NBA. The CBA as Aelliott noted above simply doesn't incentivise them to do so.

Along with the player losing money and reputation... more importantly the player would lose valuable and limited year(s) of their own career.

For a star like Harden, legacy, reputation and accomplishments are perhaps even more important than their salary. Its one of the reasons he wants to be traded. To win the ring, to be mvp, to be regarded as one of the best, those are Harden's goals... He's not sacrificing a year or two of his prime... of his career to pout at home, while Giannis, Kawhi, Curry, KD, etc are all out their balling.

Lastly if by some crazy happenstance that Harden does hold out. Rockets should fine and suspend him once the season starts and continue to do so until he shows up. I also wouldn't so quickly dismiss the chances of Tilman not welcoming it. Tilman who just made Landry's public (broke) will be more than happy NOT to pay Harden his 41+ million dollar salary.

 

Looks wide and strong to me.