Tag: Chris Paul

The Houston Rockets Retiring James Harden’s Number *This Season* is Some Sad Stuff

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Yahoo Sports – James Harden may no longer be with the Houston Rockets, but his number is set to live in the rafters at the Toyota Center forever. The Rockets, owner Tilman Fertitta said on Tuesday, are set to retire Harden’s number later this season.

“James Harden will always be a Rocket,” Fertitta told the Houston Chronicle. “Of course, we will retire his jersey. He made my first three years of owning the franchise unforgettable. The success he brought this franchise over eight years and the memories he created for our fan base/community [are] truly remarkable.”

Harden will be the seventh player in team history to have his number retired by the organization, joining Calvin Murphy, Moses Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon, Rudy Tomjanovich, Clyde Drexler and Yao Ming. Longtime assistant coach and team executive Carroll Dawson had his initials retired, too.

This is like putting a giant framed picture of your ex-wife on the mantle in the house for your new girlfriend to look at every single day. I understand James Harden is undeniably one of the Rocket’s best players of all-time as a former league MVP and 8x All-Star, even if it didn’t lead to a championship, but it’s been less than TWO MONTHS since Harden shut it down and shot his way out of town. The dude was going to strip clubs (sorry, birthday parties) in the middle of a pandemic and missing games on the regular. The guy looked out of shape and unmotivated and was publicly criticizing his supporting cast as he demanded a trade through the media. So announcing that you plan to retire his number *this season* is some sad stuff.

In fairness Harden did play 8+ seasons with the Rockets, which is more than Yao Ming, Clyde Drexler, and Moses Malone. So I’m not saying you need to nuke your entire relationship with the Beard, but maybe give it some time to breathe before giving him the ultimate honor. And this is coming from a Celtics fan where every other number is already up in the rafters. The Celtics will probably be the first team to introduce three-digit numbers out of pure necessity.

But have some pride, man.

This ain’t Kevin Garnett reluctantly accepting a trade to Boston and giving up on Minnesota late in his career. This is a guy that routinely dictated moves he wanted like bringing on Chris Paul, then shipping out Chris Paul, then bringing on Russell Westbrook, then shipping out Russell Westbrook, and then looking around and deciding nah it ain’t working here, I’m out. And the Rockets aren’t some dumpster fire either, they made the playoffs every single season Harden was there, going as far as the Conference Finals twice. So if I’m a Rockets fan you bet I’m a little annoyed at the franchise immediately opting to retire his number like six weeks after Harden flipped the bird on his way out of town to greener pastures.

Thnks fr th Mmrs, James.

I Don’t Blame LeBron for Joining the Lakers, But How Will NBA History Remember Him?

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LeBron James is the latest superstar athlete to pack up and head for Hollywood to play for the Lakers. After years of hating on LeBron I have to admit, I don’t really blame him for this one. Three out of the last four years the Cavs just did not have enough firepower to beat the all-world Golden State Warriors. Part of that is his own fault for forcing the team to be built in his image, long term planning be damned, but all that aside the writing was on the wall. The Cavs were not getting any better so he could play out his days in Cleveland due to a sense of guilt for how he left his hometown high and dry for Miami all those years ago. Or he could go put a bow on his career and build a media empire while playing for the Showtime Lakers and learn from the Magic 8-ball himself.

After winning a title for those lovable losers in Cleveland, LeBron was playing with house money and he knew it. The fans couldn’t possibly turn on him again, especially after getting the Cavs to the finals the last 4 years in a row. So unless the Cavs somehow landed Kawhi or Paul George, which was never going to happen, LeBron had one foot out the door as soon as that championship parade was over.

Hey, I totally get the desire to just live somewhere that you like. I’m from Boston, born and bred, but I want to blow my brains out from the months of November to March. If it wasn’t for the Patriots, Bruins, and Celtics to get me through the miserable nuclear winters in this city I would have packed my bags and moved years ago.

So for a guy in his 30s with 3 kids who’s already accomplished just about everything in the league, I totally get wanting to go take a new job in a city thats 70 degrees every day of the year. Plus you know LeBron wants to make more movies, whether its the oft rumored Space Jam 2 or if its for more roles like his cameo in Trainwreck where I found myself liking LeBron more than I care to admit.

For LeBron he gets the benefits of both worlds, he’s now able to really start building the media empire he clearly wants to build and he gets to play for the Los Angeles Lakers who *could* be challenging for a championship as early as next year because they fall ass backwards into top free agents all the time. This probably isn’t exactly what Kobe had in mind when he told LeBron to just “figure it out” in order to win titles.

This move doesn’t seem like ring chasing though. The Lakers are fine, but barring some monster moves they aren’t true title contenders. Did the Warriors beat the will to win out of LeBron? Has he come to realize he probably isn’t going to be able to top Michael Jordan’s six rings without a hurricane wiping out the Bay Area? Maybe thats why, as Chris Mannix put it, winning seems to now be taking a back seat.

“Is James, 33, really willing to punt on the upcoming season in the hopes of success in the next one? Seems like it. L.A. is a fantastic business decision and clearly one with which his family was comfortable. But basketball? Finding his way to Houston, a 65-win team that had the Warriors on the ropes last season, would have been a basketball decision. The Sixers, a team with a pair of elite young franchise players already on board, would have been a basketball decision.

Boston, Denver, Golden State … those would have been basketball decisions.

The Lakers are about something else.”

If nothing else though, this team is going to be entertaining as fuck. For his first move as the new GM of the Lakers, LeBron signed Lance Stephenson.

Yup that guy.

For his second move he signed the wildly entertaining Javale McGee.

And then of course to top it all off, don’t forget the first family of LA, the patriarch of which is still very much embedded in this team.

I am legitimately excited for LaVar to complain on an episode of Ball in the Family (which shockingly ain’t half bad) that LeBron isn’t getting his son the ball enough. Skip Bayless literally may croak at his desk.

The only real knock on this whole situation though is where does it ultimately leave LeBron’s legacy? Does he get remembered as the guy who brought a championship to long suffering Cleveland? The guy who smoked his hometown with The Decision and built the NBA’s first real Super Team? Or is he remembered as a nomad just jumping around from team to team picking out the situation that suited him best at the time?

To be honest, I think when we look back in 20 years its probably going to be mostly the last one, but not in a negative way. He’ll be looked at as a guy ahead of his time because sure LeBron was the first one to orchestrate the construction of his own Super Team, but we’ve seen it time and time again in the years since. James Harden and CP3 working their way to the Rockets to play together. Kevin Durant heading for greener pastures to chase rings with the Warriors. LeBron was the first one to do it.

He may ultimately be revered as the guy that taught his peers the players have the power, not the owners. If you’re good enough you can leverage your talent to shape a team the way you see fit. LeBron did this with his 1+1 contracts, basically keeping his team on its toes for years (for better or worse) so they couldn’t just take a year off, not spend enough, or punt on a free agent because LeBron could just threaten to opt out and leave. He brought the power back to the players.

For all his dominance, his “must watchability,” his highs, his lows, LeBron will be an NBA legend when its all said and done, but when he does get that Hall of Fame nod……what jersey will he wear? Will it even matter by then?

Dwyane Wade Close to Signing with the Cavs, Which Can Only Mean One Thing

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ESPN – Twelve-time NBA All-Star guard Dwyane Wade is nearing a commitment to sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers and could finalize his decision as soon as Wednesday, league sources told ESPN.Wade, who agreed to a contract buyout with Chicago, will clear waivers on Wednesday and become an unrestricted free agent. Wade has been intrigued by the idea of rejoining LeBron James on the Cavaliers. Wade and James are longtime friends and won two championships and made four trips to the NBA Finals as teammates on with the Miami Heat.

THE BANANA BOAT IS GETTING BACK TOGETHER!

When LeBron was at the peak of his powers no one, save for Tim Duncan, could stop him. That Miami Heat team is one of the most dominant teams we’ve seen in a long time, which people are quick to forget because of how dominant the Warriors have become since LeBron left Miami. Its like every move villain ever. One falls and another pops up to take its place. So Bron Bron is calling in the reinforcements. He’s getting the Banana Boat back together. When times were simpler and LeBron was bullying teams en route to back to back championships. Back then Super Teams were fun because he was on the best one. Unfortunately Chris Paul is already in Houston, but maybe with 2/3 Banana Boat power levels LeBron and D-Wade can do some damage.

PS – How awesome must it be to be so fucking rich that you negotiate a buyout of your GUARANTEED $23 million salary to go play with your buddies for 10% of that and not even bat an eye. Goddamn.

“Wade, 35, is eligible to sign a one-year, $2.3 million veterans minimum contract with the Cavaliers…Wade gave back $8 million of his $23.8 million 2017-18 salary to reach a buyout agreement, league sources said.”

Something I Didn’t Expect to Write Back in 2013; It Must Suck to Be Doc Rivers Right Now

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This is not something I expected to write back in 2013. We all knew it was time for the Celtics to break up the band when they did, but I’ll never forget drinking a $3 PBR at White Horse as I somberly watched the ESPN news of the trade light up the flat screens around the bar. I knew it was time, but it still sucked to see the best Celtics team of my lifetime finally break up.

Back in 2013 the Celtics were at the end of an era and it was clear. The Big 3 of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen had dominated from their first tipoff together, starting the 2007-08 season by going 27-2 on the way to an NBA Championship. They were always in the hunt for a title over the course of the next 5 seasons and were a ton of fun to watch as they morphed from the dominant top dog into the aging, wily veterans making one last stand.

Once that all came to an end though, Doc Rivers, who infamously said how he wanted to be a part of the Celtics rebuild, almost immediately changed his mind on being part of said rebuild. With 3 years and $21 million left on Doc’s contract he wanted out. So Danny Ainge made a deal with the Clippers to send Doc out west and got a first round pick in exchange.

Shitty move by Doc, but I don’t hold some massive grudge over it like a lot of fans still do. Doc wanted to leave for greener pastures (and more power) in LA so why pay a coach $7 million dollars a year on a lottery bound team? Doesn’t make sense.

Back then though the Clippers were the place to be with young studs like Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan and Chris Paul to bring it all together. They looked like a team poised to do big things while the Celtics looked to be on the brink of a long, slow, and painful rebuild. Except four years later the Celtics are the reigning No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference with have the best young coach in the league in Brad Stevens, having recently added three All-Stars (Hayward, Horford, Irving), and picked up a couple of lottery picks to boot in Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.

Meanwhile the Clippers are legitimately falling apart. Doc has been stripped of his role as President of Basketball Operations and is back to just writing “Coach” on his LinkedIn profile. Chris Paul is gone. DeAndre Jordan is suddenly 29 and Blake Griffin is now a 28 year old on bad knees who is aging in dog years.

Ask any executive in the NBA and I would bet the house that I don’t own that every single one of them would rather be the Celtics right now. Who the hell would have guessed that would be the case just 4 years ago? That would have been absurd to suggest, yet here we are.

The best part? The Celtics aren’t done. They still have a potential top 5 pick again next year with the Lakers pick and are only going to get better with Kyrie and Hayward on the team with the young guys continuing to develop.

I wonder if Doc looks back and says, welp I really fucked that one up. Not something I thought I would write just 4 years later from that Allston barstool.

The NBA Offseason is the Offseason We Deserve

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The NBA Offseason is a goddamn rollercoaster of emotions and its the only thing keeping me entertained until football starts up again. We got Chris Paul to the Rockets, Paul George and Gordon Hayward possibly to the Celtics, Carmelo Anthony trying to get a buyout from the Knicks, the Porzingis trade rumors, the Celtics trading the No. 1 overall pick, the Lavar Big Baller Brand bullshit, and not to mention Phil Jackson getting shitcanned by the Knicks.

The NBA offseason is literally overflowing with storylines and gives us the juice we need. It beats the hell out of every other sport’s offseason where big moves are few and far between.

I don’t really care to get into every team in the NBA’s salary cap situation because that is a goddamn rabbit hole. So I know half these teams either don’t have the cap space or the assets to bring in max guys, but now we got teams like the Rockets reportedly trying to bring in Paul George. Ya know, the same Paul George that the Celtics are trying to trade for and pair with Hayward, IT, and Horford.

Basically all the reports are saying that the Celtics need to wait until the start of free agency to sign Gordon Hayward before they can (or would even want to) trade for George. So I guess I’ll just sit here with my dick in my hand until July 1st.

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I Am SHOCKED the NFL Has Yet to Accuse the Patriots of Collusion for Potential Malcolm Butler Trade

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As much as I would hate to see the Patriots trade a young stud cornerback in his prime, this would be the ultimate wink-wink trade between Bill Belichick and good friend Sean Payton.

I mean, the Patriots trade their only 1st round pick to the Saints for Brandin Cooks, who was originally rumored to be demanding a much higher price tag. Then not long after that trade becomes official, the rumors start to fly about the Patriots trading Malcolm Butler to the Saints for a 1st round pick. The 32nd overall pick. The same exact pick the Patriots just traded to the Saints.

Basically, if this trade were to go through, the Pats essentially traded Malcolm Butler and a 3rd round pick to the Saints for Brandin Cooks and a 4th rounder, with the 32nd overall pick coming back to New England. With all the subtle shit the Pats try and pull to get around the rules, I cannot believe that I don’t hear people screaming from the rooftops about collusion.

Remember when the NBA just straight up nixed the Hornets’ Chris Paul trade to the Lakers just because? Legit just said, nope fuck that you’re not getting Chris Paul. Or even the more directly relevant situation, when the Celtics basically tried to trade Doc Rivers and Kevin Garnett to the Clippers for DeAndre Jordan and the NBA shut that down too. The NBA didn’t like the fact that the C’s were combining a player and a coach in a deal so they nixed the deal. The C’s later dealt Doc to the Clippers for a 1st round pick (with both KG and DeAndre being removed), but if Doc to the Clippers and KG to the clippers were two separate deals from the start no one would have said shit, but because they were combined into one deal initially the NBA didn’t like it and basically screwed the Celtics out of any shot of landing DeAndre for KG later because the league viewed it as collusion; a quid pro quo deal based around the Doc deal. Total horse shit.

Maybe thats what Belichick learned. The guy is an elephant. Separate the deals. Leave no room for opposition and then execute ruthlessly. Dude is like a Lannister really. I guess no one is bitching because Butler getting traded actually makes the Patriots worse, not better. But keep your ears open. The Patriots are “always cheating” so its only a matter of time until that narrative comes up again.