James Harden wanted the Rockets to trade him with the Nets. Then he added 76ers to his list of favorite commercial destinations. Then the heat and the money.
Now, the Celtics and the Trail Blazers.
Sam Amick and Kelly Iko of The Athletic:
Sources said The Athletic that the Houston Rockets guard recently considered the Boston Celtics and Portland Trail Blazers to be his favorite destinations.
With two seasons left on his contract before he could join the free agency, Harden limited the leverage to choose where he will trade.
But he does have some influence. Teams that believe he would stay beyond 2022 are encouraged to send more to Houston (although he even saw Brooklyn – his top pick – as a two-year stop, not necessarily more). Likewise, teams that believe Harden will leave in 2022 should offer Houston less.
The Rockets want a young rising star and draft choices.
Boston could offer Jaylen Brown as a centerpiece. The Celtics have all their future choices in the first round and several newly chosen players in the first round. But does Boston want to add Harden and everything he brings?
Trail Blazers have a more difficult route to make an adequate offer. CJ McCollum is older than ideal. Zach Collins and Gary Trent Jr. are not good enough to qualify as future stars. Portland already owes the Celtics a first-round choice protected by the lottery for the next seven years, although those protections can always be reduced or eliminated in a Harden exchange.