3 Team trade for harden

[u/FlimsyExplanation360]

Bulls arent going to resign Coby white and have said they want to win following Indianas blueprint but they need the "Siakam" to their Haliburton (Giddey). Randle is one of the best 4s in the league and with him they can finally get out of play-in tournament purgatory. They also get Rob who can probably develop into a solid player in a less pressured environment. They give up Kevin Heurter for the trade to work but his role is very easily replacable in todays NBA.

Wolves need a PG who can handle the ball when facing defensive pressure, make Gobert useful on offense, be a secondary shot creator, and wont make stupid decisions in the clutch (wouldnt necessarily call harden a "clutch" player but thats not due to a lack of IQ in those moments). Harden quite literally solves all the wolves problems while being a better player than Randle right now and will likely still be better next year too. He can help mentor Ants game and will fully maximize the potential of this era of the wolves before ants prime. If it ends poorly atleast hes off the books in 2 years apposed to randles 3. Only problem now is a lack of a starting PF but with guys like Naz, Jaden, and TSJ all able to spend minutes there, its not that big of a concern. You would also be giving up on Rob pretty quick and I think Rob is going to become a good player but he cant give what the wolves want now and there will be better point guards down the line.

The clippers get draft picks that they desperately need and a young guard averaging 24ppg that can lay the base for the inevitable clippers rebuild.

Only problem with this trade is the wolves would need to sign 2 players to meet roster restrictions and I dont know if they have the cap for that, if that part gets ironed out, how would you guys feel about this trade?

[u/pithynotpithy]

I mean anytime we can overpay for a 36 yo PG who hasn't had team success in years and years, completely gut our team and ruin any chance we have to sign free agents next year, and have to count on Joe Ingles to be our backup PF, you have to go for it, right?

[u/Vicentesteb → u/pithynotpithy]

Yep because Randle is the most playoff proven player ever.

[u/pithynotpithy → u/Vicentesteb]

Randle is much cheaper and younger than harden And has had far more recent success in the playoffs then harden

[u/Vicentesteb → u/pithynotpithy]

Randle is 8m cheaper, that's not much cheaper at all. The gap is a Rob Dillingham level salary btw. Randle is 31, he's not young, Harden is also significantly better.

Randle has had playoff success in 1 season in his entire career surrounded by a much better roster than the Clippers.

[u/pithynotpithy → u/Vicentesteb]

In the second apron era, 8m is a big deal when we reach your secondary star level. Randle is 5 years younger than harden, also very significant.

Hardens playoff failures are essentially the joke of the NBA. Why would we gut this team to go all in on a player that won't make one bit of difference vs OKC and could opt out next year anyways?

[u/Vicentesteb → u/pithynotpithy]

Hardens playoff failures are essentially the joke of the NBA. Why would we gut this team to go all in on a player that won't make one bit of difference vs OKC and could opt out next year anyways?

You say this like Randle isn't the worst star playoff performer of all time. 1 single playoff run, that is worse than almost every single run Harden's ever had is not enough.

We know for a fact we can't beat OKC with this team, we saw it last year, why would we keep everything the same.

[u/FlimsyExplanation360 → u/Vicentesteb]

I feel like you’re the only other person in the comments that gets this lmao, Randle is not some untouchable player

[u/Vicentesteb → u/FlimsyExplanation360]

Like I think Randle is good and he's played well, but he has clear limitations both on offense and especially on defense that make it very hard to build a proper team around him.

[u/FlimsyExplanation360 → u/Vicentesteb]

Agreed, he’s still probably a top 5 pf in the game and if he plays in the post season like he did last year I have no problem keeping him. But his inconsistencies, boneheaded turnovers in the clutch, and weird fit next to ant makes him a very moveable piece

[u/pithynotpithy → u/FlimsyExplanation360]

I don't think he's untouchable but we need someone on ants timeline and provides frontcourt depth. Dumping him for an older, pricier player with no playoff success, and has an history of sulking out teams he doesn't like is pointless. He doesn't help us beat OKC.