After the 76ers fell on the Eastern Conference semifinals stage, Rockets management and Harden exchanged interest, and the league's former superstar still wants to return to the team and get a long-term maximum salary contract. However, the difference between the two sides is this, Rockets management is not very willing to offer Harden such a contract, after all, Harden is no longer the MVP and scoring champion in his prime.
So, faced with such an awkward situation, Harden chose to execute the player option for the new season and hoped that the 76ers would trade him to a championship-contender team.
That means talks for cooperation between the Rockets and Harden have broken down, but Houston has its own solution, which is to sign VanVleet, the Raptors' starting point guard, to a three-year, $130 million maximum salary contract. At this point, the three-year, $130 million contract will become the largest contract in NBA draft history, after Duncan Robinson's five-year, $90 million contract. What can VanVleet, who set a new NBA record, change the Rockets? Does his current strength match this maximum salary contract? Let's take a look together.
As a lost draft, VanVleet can be described as a ceiling figure in this starting point, since helping the Raptors defeat the peak Warriors on the stage of the Finals to win the championship, VanVleet has been inseparable from the name Van Jordan, he has become one of the representatives of the playoffs, and he has received a lucrative contract from the Raptors. Now 29 years old, he is still at the peak of his career, and being able to get a three-year $130 million super contract is also a recognition and reward for his efforts.
VanVleet played in 69 games for the Fierces last season, averaging 19.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 1.8 steals while shooting 39.3 percent from the field and 34.2 percent from three-point range. In terms of scoring efficiency and shooting crosshair, VanVleet is not much better than Poole, who played in 82 games during the regular season last season, averaging 20.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 0.8 steals while shooting 43 percent from the field and 33.6 percent from three-point range.
Therefore, just from the data point of view, VanVleet is not worth a higher annual salary than Poole, but why he can get a larger annual salary than Poole, this is worth thinking about.
From the perspective of his career resume, VanVleet has proven his strength in the playoffs, he can shoot those magical three-pointers, and has a good offensive ability to hold the ball, and has become a starting point guard under the Raptors' system; His background is not high, and he is a star who can get the top salary after losing the draft, which allows him to not forget his original intention and cherish what he has.
And Poole? Although the beginning of his career was also the first round, it was a final pick. But because he got the opportunity to reuse it with the Warriors, he did seize such an opportunity, so he also played the same stats as a star. But there are some flaws in his attitude to playing and the handling of interpersonal relationships, and the Rockets already have such potential as Jaylen Green, and the introduction of Poole will naturally create potential contradictions in the locker room, which is not conducive to the unity of the team.
So we can understand why the Rockets signed VanVleet instead of Poole, and the reasons are summarized here:
1. VanVleet has proven his strength, especially in the playoffs;
2. VanVleet came from a humble background, and knew how to cherish what he had that was hard-won;
3. Poole's interpersonal relationship handling ability is average, and his playing attitude is not enough;
Compared to VanVleet, Harden averaged 21 points, 6.1 rebounds, 10.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game last season, shooting 44.1% from the field. He shot 38.5 percent from three-point range. After the playoffs, Harden averaged 20.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game, shooting 39.3 percent from the field and 37.8 percent from three-point range. Such statistics are obviously better than VanVleet, and Harden is also very experienced in the playoffs, and he is a top guard with more fighting ability than Van Jordan.
But the Rockets are still unwilling to offer him a long-term contract of more than three years, which obviously breaks Harden's heart, after all, he once led the team to re-emerge as a playoff team when he first joined the Rockets, and in the three years of 17, 18, and 19, the team became a championship-level team, and almost defeated the Warriors to reach the Finals stage. Now, Harden's efforts over the years have been in vain, and the Rockets are really not worth his role.