The next pick was Porter Jr. That would have been a tradeable asset with at least some value.

Imagine the world where we even just have a Mo Wagner. There’s much better names I’m certain, but let’s say we reached for a Mo Wagner. Does it change that OKC trade for Paul George? Does Doc get leverage in a fight to keep Shai in the trade?

Yeah, someone was going to bring up Jerome, and no I don’t blame an early second rounder for not suddenly becoming the 13th best player of the 2018 rookie class.

We are so cursed as a franchise that even Jerry West fumbles the assignment . Didn’t happen often. Guy is a legend for a reason.

I am so sorry to hear about Jerry West. A great man from everything I’ve read. When he decided to join the Clippers, I was elated. Jerry West was the gold standard and he was now with the Clippers. Everyone associated with the Clippers was elevated by his presence. The Clippers became legit when he added his name and stature to the franchise.

I was thinking about what fans would write. I just knew that someone would bring up Jerome Robinson. Sure enough, it happened. Jerome Robinson’s failure wasn’t on Jerry West. It’s on Jerome Robinson. He failed Jerry West, the Clippers, and himself.

He made Zu better – for two months. Improved the team – for two months. After that he was in the way of a better offense and a somewhat competitive defense. That latter one being ignored way too often and the former one taking a backseat to individual stats by people who want to throw major money at him – why?

The only viable (but weak) reason is that he’s the best point guard on the roster. Sorry, that’s not enough of a reason to overpay him. And to continue with old slowball for multiple years. And to commit to an offense that’s in the way of developing younger talent as well as in the way of maximizing the talent we have in general. And to take the (significant and very realistic) risk of yet another pouting season/ego meltdown that devalues assets and kills team chemistry.

The other weak reasons to re-sign him are putting names into Intuit Dome and a sunk-cost fallacy because we can’t revert the trade. Did we actually get better? Nope. Our defense, offense, teamplay, chemistry, spirit, togetherness and coaching all suffered from February onwards – and into the playoffs. Noticeably, that timeline coincides perfectly with Harden’s play falling off a cliff and becoming a lot lazier. James Harden, his personality, attitude and preferred playing style played a huge role in all of these aspects.

We could also look around the league and try to develop a new identity. When I do, I see a team like Boston with a total team approach where everyone defends and shares the ball – that ain’t us. I see the fast-playing, athletic Pacers. Ain’t us either. Wolves, defensive identity and much more of a team approach, much better effort. Dallas, hey, heliocentric offense! But a) Luka is infinitely better b) both Luka and Kyrie played way better defense than Harden c) Dallas found success with in particular their defensive identity in the playoffs and the way they used their role-players – that ain’t us. Dallas got shut down when Boston shut down the team approach. OKC – team approach, two-way team. New York! Offense mostly initiated by one guy! Yes, but the Knicks are so far ahead at being a team, spirited, hustling and playing for each other, it’s depressing. Oops, I didn’t even mention Denver yet. Or that the year prior, Miami made the Finals, based on superior team play, not talent or individual stats

We play antiquated basketball, we don’t play both ends, we don’t play like a real team and to stop this means to cut losses and stop committing to Harden. Kawhi can thrive, PG at least plays both ends, is versatile and is an easy fit. Re-signing Harden is committing to exactly what we saw last year.

And I know people are gonna comment some nonsense about Russ anyways but it’s irrelevant. Harden stays, the playing style stays, the problems stay, regardless of what else happens with the roster. And the cherry on top is gonna be the implosion that follows when Harden starts to face criticism.

You can’t advocate for the trade, advocate for re-signing, ignore all the red flags in the process and then act surprised when the most likely scenario hits. The warning signs are everywhere, in the eye-test, the advanced stats, the track record, the comparison to successful teams, to teams with an identity and vision… Are we seriously brushing ALL of that away because of individual stats in TWO playoff games and exclusively on offense? We were -10 per 100 with him on the court in the playoffs, his on/off was a -13.8 (while being replaced by Russ who had an abysmal offensive series). That’s how his ‘good’ playoffs look. That’s how much he sucks on defense, how much the lack of defensive cohesion that starts with him hurts the starting unit. How much a predictable, easy-to-defend offense suffers even when he hits a good percentage of his shots and keeps the turnovers low.

Is the front office gonna pay for empty stats or for building up a new team that takes a clear, modern approach? I fear it’s gonna be the former. For next year, I could live with it. For several years? Yikes

I think Lue and the coaching staff failed to optimize Harden. Ironically, Doc Rivers did a pretty good job of that, using Maxey as a change of pace. Lue steadfastly refused to give Terance Mann the rock for segments of the game to change the pace and approach, give Harden more rest so we’d get more of A Game James, or just get in Harden’s ear and tell him to move the ball with the pass to get into the sets more quickly and rely on the dribble less. Mann moves the ball with the pass more quickly and effectively and is able to get the ball into the post without a PnR set. When your offense is able to attack in multiple ways it makes you harder to guard. LAC didn’t take advantage of what we had and the opportunity that Harden provided them. Lue relied on Russ, and Russ simply wasn’t very good in his designated role as backup #1.

I would re-sign Harden. There’s no real replacement for him and his shot making ability against elite teams or in crunch time situations is elite and, frankly, necessary for a deep playoff run.

I would simply want Lue to feature Terance Mann and Bones Hyland on the ball for about 16 minutes/game so that Harden’s minutes could come down to the 28-32 range.

“The word tortured is often used to describe West. Indeed. Demons, which took root during a difficult and lonely childhood in his native West Virginia, where his imagination was his best friend and he shot thousands of shots so that he wouldn’t have to return home, ate at him throughout his life. There was little love in the West home, and physical abuse of the children at the hand of their father. Jerry West was driven, in the best and worst sense of that word, to strive, to chase perfection, to be hollowed out by defeat and only briefly salved by victory.”

I read somewhere once, where he shot the ball as a boy until his fingers bled. It was his only escape and solace.