James Harden Is Not A System Player. He's a "System"
Speaking in front of reporters for the first time as a member of the Clippers, James Harden opened up about his trade demand from the Sixers. Harden stated he felt the Sixers had him “on a leash” last season.
“When I mean a leash, I don’t mean just shooting the basketball every time,” Harden said via ESPN’s Malika Andrews (Twitter link). “I think the game and I’m a creator on the court … [I need] somebody that trusts me, that believes in me, that understands me, that I’m not a system player. I am a system.”
I think he was legitimately shafted by Morey. Harden trusted him to pay him down the line, and Morey backtracked on it. From a business perspective, Morey did the right thing not extending him, but I can understand Harden's sour grapes. Clippers might have to worry. Westbrook has been a good soldier for them, but are they poking the bear pairing him with Harden for a third time?
Responding to James Harden‘s claim that the Sixers had him “on a leash” last season, Joel Embiid said on Thursday that he didn’t get the sense his former teammate was unhappy with his role, according to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic and Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Embiid also questioned the idea that the 76ers’ game plan held Harden back in any way.
“In my opinion, we gave him the ball every single possession, because he’s really good. He’s an amazing player,” Embiid said. “Obviously being that great of a passer, we gave him the ball. If you watch the game we gave him the ball every single possession to go out there and do his thing. From there he had to make decisions as far as getting guys open or looking out for himself.
“I thought he did a pretty good job of just getting us into the offense and just passing the ball, getting guys open. That’s the reason why he won the assists title last year. I think maybe that might have been a discussion between coaches and him, but from our point of view I think we allowed him to have the ball every single possession.”
Coach Tyronn Lue said James Harden is in better shape “than I thought it would be” after the new Clippers guard participated in a scrimmage on Wednesday, according to Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times.
“He pushed the pace, he pushed the basketball, made plays for his teammates and he looked really good,” Lue said.
However, Lue realizes that developing chemistry among four ball-dominant players like Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Russell Westbrook will be an ongoing process.
“When you have four guys that can score the basketball and make plays, you know, this is just gonna be a process understanding our rotations, how we want to play, who we want to have on the floor together,” Lue said.
I saw Lively play in SL and he looked horrible. Saw him play in the exhibitions and he looked horrible. Funny how the flip switches one way or the other. Obviously he's a role player, so he needs someone like Doncic to make him look good. Matchups also a factor as he had the misfortune of facing big bad Gobert twice in the exhibitions.
Still not sold on him. Athletic but a bit soft... How is he different to Jaxon Hayes?
SBR Top-Rated Sportsbooks
James Harden Is Not A System Player. He's a "System"
Reply With Quote
