Like I mean, is this really gonna happen?

I mean, this is incredible.

Hardens got leverage like he's never had before.

The Rockets have a brand new GM and head coach.

If they don't think that he wants to be there, they can rebuild on their own on their own merits, going a completely different direction, unlike Daryl Morey, and then send hard into a place he wants to go.

Obviously, he is in search of that elusive first championship.

Yeah, and And he should be.

Here's another guy, much like a CP three.

You want to see them go to a place that they have a real opportunity to win a championship, or at least playing the championship again.

And so it makes all the sense of the world.

You know, it's weird on the surface of things, especially as as athletes or people look at athletes and say, Wow, he turned down two years, $103 million.

That doesn't even that's hard to compute.

Yeah, it is.

It's just like, how could you wrap your mind around it?

But what's the most important thing?

The most important thing is trying to get to a championship.

I got all the money in the bank.

I can't spend it, all right.

I mean, that's That's the way he looks at it.

And he's young enough to get back to a third.

Or even if I don't know if there's a third or fourth contract extension at some point in time.

It's the only thing missing because he's one of the greatest scores of his generation.

He has shown he could fill it up.

He could score in any which way.

But that chip that chips, the if I made, if I made $350 million or whatever, it's the numbers are, I'm just, you know, on and off the court.

If I'm James Harden, what's another $100 million?

I'd pay $100 million to get to my championship ring.

That's why these owners out here in professional sports spent so much money trying toe have that conversation in the room when they go to West Palm Beach to the little meetings and boardrooms and they want to be able to talk about I got a ring, that's that's the thing that hurt Ah lot of owners when they're in these meetings, all the little buddies walking around Chris and they could Hey, how you doing So and so on.

How you doing?

Yeah, it was great to have that party the other night, and I can't have that conversation.

That conversation is really James Harden wants to have that conversation.

He can't When he's on those trips with his friends that have won championships, he got to sit quiet.

No, he can't be in that conversation a whole different ballgame.

But when it comes to James Harden, I'm not necessarily sure that he's a fitting a lot of other places.

So I wonder about the leverage that the Rockets would have when they try to move him.

If they do decide to go in that direction.

If you're Houston, I mean, you've already started to kind of tear it down.

I mean, you moved on from Mike D'Antoni.

You're parted ways with Daryl Morey, so it almost feels like you've started the process.

Now it's just a matter of okay.

Can we offload Russell Westbrook, P.

J.

Tucker, And then what can we bring back in return from James Harden in order to jump start this rebuild because of James Harden lets it be known that he doesn't want to be in Houston anymore.

You have no choice as an organization.

What did I say yesterday with professional athletes telling organization, I don't want to deal with you.

Those organizations will find a way the movie, because they can't have that in the locker room they can't have.

And it's not the James Harden is a bad, especially with a new coach.

It's not a bad guy, is just that I can't have a guy that doesn't wanna be here not buying in 100% of what I'm trying to do.

And it would be it would be unfair to silence to do that to it.

So, yeah, you go ahead and you're moving.

You saw what happened in San Antonio.

Coe Coe.

I don't wanna be in San Antonio, so they said, OK, we're gonna ship you off to Toronto, and how did that work out?

E.

That's what happens.

Think about the Cilice for those that aren't aware.

Stephen Silas, 19 year N b.

A assistant finally getting his first crack as an n b A head coach, the son of Paul.

Silas, You get that crack, you think you're gonna have these two big superstars.

You might not have either of them when the season starts December 22nd.

So it's interesting dichotomy from what he thought he was walking into what he might have now, but it did he really think that you know what I'm saying?

Like, did he really think when they sat down and they hired him, that he was gonna have Westbrook in hard?

And I'm gonna ask woes that when we get woes on, But think about it.

If I'm a coach has taken over a job, and I know that they failed at the system that was in place before.

I'm going to run something close, but not quite the same.

Chances are these two dudes are gonna deal with me, you know that.

Like you honestly know that he's not.

He's not oblivious to the situation when he took the job, no doubt.

But according to Jay Will, when he was talking about this and J is going to join us a little bit later this morning.

So yes, indeed.

J was saying that silence was really known for his communication and his report with big superstar players.

He had been in Dallas.

He had been in a lot of places that had star players, and even though he wasn't the head guy, now he's moved the 18 inches over to be the head guy.

He's had the relationships right.

It's 18 inches, but it's a world of difference.

Let me ask you this.

Rarely does anybody go to a team Chris for an assistant coach, but it is notable because you mentioned Mike D'Antoni is out of Houston.

But, oh, guess what?

Mike D'Antoni's an assistant coach with the Brooklyn Nets.

Obviously, he and Harden did have a very good relationship.

So take me inside that.

I mean, if you're a player that likes to fill it up, and as the usage rate of hardened you'd love to play for a guy like D Antoni, who's an offensive specialist, is there any way you think maybe that could be leaning him and saying, You know what?

I'd love to play with Kevin Durant, be reunited with him, play with Kyrie, play with Steve Nash or for Steve Nash.

But Mike D'Antoni, the guy that may have taken my career to the next level is right there in Brooklyn.

See, I think it's less about James Harden's relationship with Mike D'Antoni and more about hardens relationship with Kevin Durant and probably more importantly, Kyrie Irvin.

Because if James Harden comes to Brooklyn, James Harden is going to be the primary ball handler for the Brooklyn Nets, and Kyrie is gonna have to be off the ball.

Is Kyrie gonna be willing to resign himself to that kind of role?

I mean, is he gonna be willing to do that similar to what he had to do in Cleveland when LeBron came back?

That's the question.

I don't know.

Is that personal relationship strong enough to make that dynamic work?

I think that's the biggest question when it comes to whether or not the deal makes sense for the Brooklyn Nets.

I think the relationship is strong enough, I think, because you have Kevin Durant, you have Mike D'Antoni there, you have a veteran and Steve Nash, Jack Von is there's an assistant and Kyrie could play off the ball, could play on the ball.

It gives them options, it gives them options now.

Clearly you got basically three dominant players in terms of offensive performance all different in their own way, right?

But that's lethal.

I think that's lethal for the East.

And if they grab James hard, nothing less.

I know prior to this, I said that they, you know, showing up in the Eastern Conference final would be good, but nothing less than getting to the championship.

Nothing less.

Oh, yeah, they just keep if they get James Harden.

The only team in the East that's gonna stop the Nets from getting to the NBA Finals is the Net's.

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