In one of the more unusual but telling statements of the current NBA landscape, the Houston Rockets front office just said that they are willing to get uncomfortable heading into this upcoming season, whenever that might happen.
Of course what they meant was they were willing to get uncomfortable in regard to the employment status of their two mega-stars James Harden and Russell Westbrook, two athletes that just couldn’t quite bring the team past either Western Conference rivals Golden State or the Los Angeles Lakers in pursuit of a title, a condition that’s increasingly unlikely to change as the Lakers and other teams like Denver and even Boston and Miami in the East have loaded up on veteran and emerging talent. In other words, as close as the Rockets have come, the sun may be setting on their highest aspirations.
Which is why both Harden and Westbrook have asked to be traded. Harden has taken that a step further, asking that he be traded specifically to the Brooklyn Nets, a team that already employs superstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. With the addition of Harden, the League’s most prolific scorer, the Nets would join the rarified air of superteam and immediately be appointed favorite to at least emerge from the Eastern Conference, if not win the whole thing. That is what both James Harden and Russell Westbrook both desperately want – to win an NBA Title, the accomplishment that defines the NBA’s most elite. Beyond the MVP trophies and scoring titles and all the other personal accolades, at some point, every franchise level player eventually turns their attention to this singular brass ring. It’s how we distinguish the best from next, including impossible debates about Jordan vs LeBron vs Kobe vs Bill Russell vs whomever you think has claim to the throne.
To try and ease any discomfort James Harden may be feeling, they did offer a two-year contract extension paying over $100 million. We should remember that both Harden and Westbrook are currently what we’d call supermax contract guys, already earning around 40 million a year, as they have for the past several. I’m guessing the difference between 40 and 50 million gets pretty insignificant over time, although I’d like to find out. But when it comes to deciding where to play professional basketball, the jarring 50 million dollar bottom line isn’t as convincing as you’d think.
To be clear, the Rockets do not have to trade either James Harden or Russell Westbrook – although they’d be more inclined to deal the latter. Both have two years left on their existing contracts, and there’s no question the Rockets are better team with James Harden and Russell Westbrook than without. So it would take a whole lot of trade value to make Houston want to follow through. And from a trade perspective, it’s really hard to get the best deal when the team you might trade with – in this case the Nets – knows you won’t walk away. Which is why the Rockets have made it clear they will do just that, walk away from any trade deal they think isn’t fair and instead simply prepare to get uncomfortable.
Not surprisingly, there is considerable debate on what the Rockets should do, and what that generally means for the state of the NBA. Especially if you’re a Rockets fan, you’re likely to have little sympathy for an employee under contract making 40 million a year that’s guaranteed, demanding to be traded to the team of your liking because you don’t want to be there anymore. It defies most people’s perception of both work and loyalty, as I’d imagine most ardent sports fans bleed team colors much more than players, even as they give everything for whomever they play for at the time. But in the era of free agency, it is still just a job.
That said, the NBA is now truly a player’s league, where labor has equaled if not exceeded the influence of ownership – even through the virus era, where management would seem to hold most of the cards, as it does in most American industries right now. Which means that even though Houston might be willing to get uncomfortable, it’s probably not long before discomfort turns to flat out agony, and Houston will figure its best path to rebuilding from the ground up – which seems like the only way to ever win an NBA title now-a-days. Which means all this talk may be little more than posture, something the Rockets will do until a deal is made.
Until then, I suppose Russell Westbrook and James Harden remain Houston Rockets. But I wouldn’t get too comfortable with that.
Keith Strudler is the director of the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University. You can follow him on twitter at @KeithStrudler
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