Four teams on James Harden’s Christmas wish list
December 12, 2020
Just over a week ago the Houston Rockets granted Russell Westbrook’s wish list and traded him to the Washington Wizards for John Wall in the biggest NBA blockbuster deal of the offseason. Now it appears that the Rockets might be close to granting a similar request for their star guard James Harden.
Like Westbrook, Harden seems displeased that the Rockets parted ways with head coach Mike D’Antoni, and general manager Daryl Morey, and now wants out too. In the last week, Harden has reportedly given the Rockets four teams on his wish list–the Milwaukee Bucks, Miami Heat, the Philadelphia 76ers, and Brooklyn Nets. All of these organizations are built to win now, and will be contenders in the Eastern Conference this year.
The biggest problem for the Rockets however is trying to find the right trade partner. The asking price for Harden is going to be huge. At minimum, Houston would be looking for one or two core players they can put into their lineup now, a prospect and a draft pick.
However, due to the fact Harden keeps adding teams to the wish list (Milwaukee and Miami came after Brooklyn and Philadelphia), it appears the teams he wants to be dealt to do not have the adequate pieces that Houston is looking for. The question is why would they? When the Bucks, Heat, 76ers, and Nets are built to win now, one would question if trading for Harden would be right, and how much would it interfere with the chemistry and depth.
Three of the aforementioned teams already have superstars and franchise players. Milwaukee has Giannis Antetokounmpo. Brooklyn has Kevin Durant. Miami has Jimmy Butler. When a superstar (in Westbrook) teamed up with Houston last season, special things in Texas never materialized. There was no chemistry between Westbrook and Harden, and that is why Houston barely beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference quarterfinals, and quickly fizzled out of the postseason in the next round in an easy loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Don’t be surprised if the management of the Nets, Bucks, and Heat are aware of this, and this is one reason why they have not made a huge push for Harden to date.
The team that makes the most sense to acquire Harden at this time is Philadelphia. The 76ers have talent in Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, and Ben Simmons, but do not have the impact player or difference-maker. However, the acquisition of Harden could be exactly what the 76ers need to be an elite team in 2020-21. Harden in Philadelphia just makes sense. Remember Morey is in Philadelphia now, and is making $10 million per year to be the 76ers president. Morey is getting paid big bucks to make a big move, and a reunification with Harden could happen before Christmas!
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