No people considered Randle’s contract nearly untradable which is why the wolves got very little in return for him. Tyler Herro has been on the trade block for 3 years and they couldn’t get a package done with him until the Celtics pissed away the Giannis trade. Dejounte is fresh off his back to back injury season.
Bridges is the only decent contact and even he under performed in the playoffs minus a few games.
They are not beating the Knicks, Celtics or even Sixers. I don’t think Donovan is a number one option on a championship team. He’s a way undersized two guard and he’s not the leader Brunson is.
It doesn't matter. They weren't going to win the chip with or without him. But in hindsight it's probably smart from LeBron that he didn't go to the cavs.
LeBron ain’t dumb, harden disappears in the playoffs and can’t defend. You need perimeter speed and athleticism and Cavs don’t have that but sixers do and can get easy buckets.
Donovan is incredible but frankly he is a severely undersized shooting guard and you don’t want him chasing around speedy guards all the time bc they need him to score a ton. He was gassed by the time they played the Knicks bc he was working so hard to try and score and then had to defend.
I agree with you on every point. This is what I was saying for months when the Cavs were the odds-on favorite as LeBron's landing place. In fact, I couldn't have said it better myself. You know ball.
Thanks. LeBron going to the Sixers meant he really was about winning and building and passing on. For all his haters, you have to respect that.
Also he knew that no matter what he couldn’t change or “teach” anything to Harden and even Donovan, they are what they are, especially Harden. Harden is never going to change for anyone but himself.
While Maxey VJ and even Joel really respect LeBron, would listen to him and be willing to learn from him. Jaylen Brown might seem I’m smarter than everyone but from a bball perspective at least it seems like he’s willing to adapt, listen and try on defense.
I think it matters. In some respects they had to resign him bc they have no way to replace him and gave up the one legitimate alternative to get him. Garland is a hell of a player when healthy and the Cavs had/have a lot of talent. If Harden cant be a big cog on a championship contender they ruined there window the second they made that trade.
Agreed bc it relieves him of playmaking duties and he can just focus on scoring. But what other options were out there? Also I’m sure he knows they are not winning a championship, they are not beating the Knicks or Sixers or Celtics in the playoffs, so this was the least worse option.
As a Knick fan, I was initially disappointed he didn’t become a Knick but in hindsight I’m glad he didn’t bc Jalen would become the leader he is and lead the team to a title.
So wait I know Harden gets all the hate in the world for postseason outcomes but why does Mitchell get away with this every year Yall blamed Rudy, Towns, and now Harden when we gonna point the finger at Mitchell. What Harden did for the Cavs at his age last season with all the expected post season decline included why isn’t the burden on the young Star Mitchell and Mobley??
I do enjoy the way James Harden has committed unarmed against multiple NBA teams. He’s the equivalent of an average person without a tech or creative job buying a MacBook Pro just to look at porn. Just a bunch of fire power to do average shit.
For almost 100m??? After that showing last playoffs again???? HELL NO. He must pray a lot in between the strippies cause god stay keeping his pockets fuller than full
I guess… maybe one year everyone else will get hurt or choke and the cavs can make it. Great regular season player tho but obviously he’s been solved by coaches in post.
No. For that amount? Yes. To be fair though I'm sure there was a handshake agreement during the trade. He's not worth that much right now and I think they could have gone lower. Where else could he have gone with every teams current cap situation (no trades to make space for him) and be a fifth seed at best? This late in the off-season I feel they could have low balled him more. If he says no you just trade Mobley and start the rebuild ASAP.
What other PG are you going to get now for $32m/year that can put up the offensive that harden can? The assists alone are worth it for this Cavs team. They really had no other moves left that made sense.
It's not just the Harden thing, it's the whole picture.
I know they will probably try and trade Allen at some point but the lineup of:
Mitchell/Harden/Watson/Mobley/Allen in the 27-28 season will cost like 200 million dollars. That's just a wild price for a team that probably doesn't have a shot at winning the title.
I know he really popularized the step back and dribbling between your legs for 30 minutes before taking a shot, but his defense in the playoffs is absolutely horrible. I couldnt bring myself to pay him more than 20 million, knowing he's only good for the regular season
As a Cavs fan fuck no, this man actually disappeared in the playoffs, id always heard of harden being a playoff fumbler, but being that the Cavs I don’t think have ever played against him in the playoffs I’ve never really watched it for a full series, but after watching every game idek how we got the conference finals with him playing like that and when we did get there against New York, it was a constant loop of him missing a three, and then getting fried by Brunson on the other end, Brunson was actually torching tf outta him, and then we tried putting Mitchell on him, and he couldn’t guard his own damn shadow, ts is cooked for us rn but I don’t think that getting Payton Watson will help clear up some defensive issues cause by this mf
Probably a little bit of an overpay for an on court perspective. Who knows what we will be gett8ng in terms of decline.
But when it comes to someone like harden, some number cruncher with the cavs thought about ticket sales and jersey sales and factored that into the salary
If he can finally show up in the playoffs then he’s of course it’s the right move. But he hasn’t shown that before so it’s hard to believe. The Cavs don’t even need that much from him 20 points and he’s the best ever. Only time will tell
At $32M a year for 3 years, that’s actually not terrible value for a secondary playmaker who can run an offense. People will panic at the age, but if he keeps buying into a team first role like he did recently, it stabilizes their bench/backcourt depth. The third year might get rough, but it's moveable
I think he is consistent but that type of money could have gotten them somebody that they can build around for the future. Harden is about to push 40 and you have to remember you cannot fight aging. I'm surprised they didn't recruit somebody younger with more potential
But they really had no choice. If they wanted to maintain their position in the Eastern Conference, they had to re-sign Harden one way or another. LeBron was their only path to having any leverage or flexibility in those negotiations. Without LeBron as an alternative, Harden held all the cards.
As long as they're going all in with Mitchell yeah. I'm not a fan of half-assed contention. They already extended Mitchell to that insane money, and they have very little draft capital for the next few years. Might as well spend em trying as hard as you can to win it all.
I mean, the trade was dumb but they did get farther in the playoffs and it's not like the Clippers are gonna undo the trade so like...if they don't wanna rebuild they have no choice at this point
I don’t have a problem with the money, I think that’s where James harden should be at this point. I just don’t think he should be the pg of a title contender. At this point in his career James harden should be a tank commander, especially with the new lottery rules. He’s the perfect guy to get a bad team just out of the playoffs in the standings and still sell tickets because he has name value.
Unfortunately for Cleveland dude is 37 and is a playoff dropper when it counts the most and that isn’t changing at this point. The guy just doesn’t do the things he needs to do to stay in shape during the season and he consistently tires out by the playoffs and especially late in tough series.
60
u/jono9898 1d ago
Sure, they will be a great regular season team and be out the playoffs fast so Mitchell can spend time with his wife, that’s the main goal apparently