The Morning After.

it wasn’t until i saw the team’s official post that it dawned on me: the Harden era was really over.

what can be said to sum up the 8 years as a Rockets fan? a lot, i KNOW. but how can you adequately cover such a franchise defining era without missing anything? i don’t think you can & i won’t try. however, i will say this:

on October 27, 2012, Rockets fans had no idea what trading Jeremy Lamb & Kevin Martin to OKC would do for our franchise. 

James Harden came to us with a small mohawk, full beard, & his Sixth Man of The Year trophy in tow. he would then slowly tick off statistical milestones only reached by the likes of Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, & Kobe Bryant. he managed to will the Rockets into playoff seeding his entire tenure with the team, often forced to drag thin, aging, & injured rosters to the finish line. 

during the 2017-2018 season, Harden fine tuned his already elite game, launching him into the MVP conversation & firmly placing the Rockets as the one seed in the league, a franchise first. although expectations were high for that team, they fell one game short of the finals after losing Chris Paul to an injury & recording the worst shooting performance in history. despite the bitter ending to that season, Harden won the league’s MVP award & his first scoring title.

after the 2018 flameout & seemingly the Rockets best shot at a title, the shine on the Harden era was starting to dull. Harden, the Rockets, & the fanbase alike wanted only one thing: we wanted to win. those hopes began to fade as surrounding teams made the necessary moves to compete, & the Rockets made the wrong moves out of desperation. when the relationship between Harden & the Rockets became broken beyond repair, a decision was made to trade him to the Brooklyn Nets, his preferred destination. 

now Rockets fans are experiencing the morning after. the sobering hours after a seismic shift are usually the most difficult to navigate. although there are reasons for optimism, the future of the team is still uncertain. will we rebuild? will we contend? at this point, there are more questions than answers. & it’s hard to determine whether to rejoice or mourn when your franchise player no longer wears Rockets red.

there is no right answer, & there is no wrong feeling.

whether you choose to look at the past 8 years in appreciation, frustration, derision, or indifference, it’s paramount to accept our new reality.

it’s the morning after, & we are firmly in the post-Harden era.