The year is 2020, the day is March 186. We could all use a good laugh right now. Luckily, the NBA rumor mill provided one on Wednesday morning.
As the NBA ramps up in warp speed, rumors are flying left and right. The latest revolves around James Harden, Russell Westbrook and the Houston Rockets. The ball-dominant backcourt experiment failed in Year 1 as Houston was pushed to seven games by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the playoffs, and then lost in five games to the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round.
Harden and Westbrook have expressed concerns about the Rockets' immediate future, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Tim MacMahon reported Wednesday, citing sources. Does this mean the Rockets will break up the duo, or one and/or both players will look for new homes?
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SIGN UP HERE Former Rockets general manager Daryl Morey reportedly will pursue a Harden trade for his new team, the Philadelphia 76ers. What about another contender pursuing Harden like ... the Warriors?
Told you we all needed a good laugh right now.
ESPN's Bobby Marks listed the Warriors (lol) as one of the teams that could be a possible landing spot for Harden. Here's his reasoning.
"The Warriors are on the list because they hold two valuable picks in 2020's No. 2 selection and Minnesota's lightly protected 2021 first-rounder," Marks wrote. "Andrew Wiggins, Kevon Looney and both draft picks work for Harden.
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"But does Houston really want to stare at Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and now Harden for the next three seasons?"
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Well, no the Rockets don't want to stare at that. But even more so, Curry, Thompson and Green don't want to watch Harden dribble the ball for 22 seconds and take a one-footed 3-pointer. This isn't to slam Marks. He's a very smart expert within NBA circles. He also isn't predicting this will happen. Marks is simply showing why it could work as far as the math goes.
Math and numbers, however, don't always win titles. Just ask the Rockets. The spreadsheet champions of the world now are in shambles with no actual championships to their name.
This isn't close to the Kevin Durant situation. Even though the Warriors battled Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder, he and his team never were close to as hated as Harden and the Rockets have become with the Warriors. KD also fit the only true position of need at the time on Golden State's roster. Durant is a dominant scorer but he wanted to expand his game. He wanted to share the ball, he wanted to grow as a player.
That doesn't exactly seem like Harden's mindset at this time in his career. Sure, there's no doubt a player as great as he is could adapt. Part of what makes him so great, however, is that his game is so unlike any other player in so many ways. It might be unbearable to watch at times, but averaging 33.7 points per game the last three years is no mistake.
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Imagine Harden pounding the ball into the hardwood while Steph and Klay sit in the corner tying their shoes. Now imagine Harden disagreeing with Draymond deep into a game. You thought the situation between Green and Durant was bad at Staples Center? Think again. Draymond would shave Harden's beard with his bare hands on the court at Chase Center if the lefty didn't play Green's way.
Harden will be enshrined into the Basketball Hall of Fame one day. That's a guarantee. He won't wear a Warriors jersey one day. That's also a guarantee.