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Well, I would've started Harden immediately. He was already playing over 30 mins a nightI wouldn't have kept bringing him off the bench at all. I'm not saying keep Harden & keep your rotations & offense exactly the same as 2012. The players evolve, so should your rotations & approach.
And these guys are ball dominant because that's what you're asking them to do
Scott Brooks probably wouldn't have made it work, but that's a coaching issue, not a personnel one. I would've kept all three. That means Harden isn't averaging 29 & 12 assists, Russ isn't averaging 30/10/10, that doesn't mean that they're less effective. KD has the lowest usage rate, but the highest PER of his career right now.
Once again I see what you're saying but Harden isn't as effective off the ball as Wade or KD.
He's a PG, always has been and this is the first year he really has gotten to prove that.
It's also why he worked so well off the bench because he was the primary ballhandler.
Having all the money tied up in those guys wouldn't allow OKC to add any other shooters/pieces either and would probably have enabled Brooks to keep his job.
It's not about the numbers they are putting up now it's about the fit, like you just said Russ and Harden putting up career numbers and playing at their best because they are ball dominant.
KD playing his best in without being as usage heavy because he is the one who is immune to that, Russ or Harden off the ball is not getting the most out of them and one of them would've had to always be to make it work.
Him not flourishing off the ball has more to do with coaching (Brooks) & timing (he only had ONE season where he finally put it all together & OKC had no backup PG so that was his role.) He's better equipped than Wade to flourish off the ball given his jumpshot, so I'm not trading a player with his talents under the idea that he's can't be devastating off the ball. I flatly disagree with that given that there isn't anything he can't do offensively.
He's a combo guard fam, not purely one or the other. His numbers were virtually identical in the reg season & the playoffs, including that disastrous Miami series. So it really didn't matter who he shared the court with or what his role was, he was equally effective. So I don't know where you're getting that from.
I mean yea
that's how superteams work. You use all your space on 3-4 guys, with hopes that their greatness will cover up the other holes on your roster. It's worked in the past. It's not an ideal fit, but neither was Lebron & Wade w/ Spoelstra as the coach. KD & Harden can do everything on offense, I'm just not seeing how they wouldn't be devastating off-ball players. They'd be taking open shots all day with Russ putting pressure on the defense. Or they'd be going 1on1 with minimal help.
But the point is moot since Bennett didn't wanna pay up
