Although James Harden finally arrived in Houston to perform at the training ground after attending parties in Atlanta and Las Vegas, the relationship between the franchise star Rockets and the organization continues to deteriorate. While videos of Harden appearing at rapper Lil Baby’s parties circulated on social media, Rockets started training without their best player, and Houston’s new coach Stephen Silas called it a “setback” because he was not with the team .
In the past month, rumors have surfaced that Harden wanted to leave Houston, and now they seem to be popping up again. Previous reports indicated that Harden had a list of candidates to accept an exchange from, including the Philadelphia 76ers, the Brooklyn Nets and now the Milwaukee Bucks and the Miami Heat, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania. Let’s move on to Christmas Eve and Harden now, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic, added the Portland Trail Blazers and Boston Celtics to the list of teams he prefers to trade with.
When initial reports that Harden was trying to be traded surfaced a while ago, the Sixers and Brooklyn Nets were the two teams that were linked to the superstar, although nothing gained traction with either franchise. No conversations have been made with the Sixers yet, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, as Philadelphia’s new president – and former general manager of the Rockets – Daryl Morey has been adamant about keeping Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons together for now. Sixers coach Doc Rivers also denied the rumors during the training camp, saying “none of these commercial rumors are coming from us.”
Despite this, league sources still believe that the Sixers are the most likely landing site for Harden, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times, who points to the familiarity between the two offices as an important factor in concluding a business.
As far as the Nets are concerned, the Rockets wouldn’t even consider a deal with the franchise unless it included Kevin Durant or Kyrie Irving, for Charania. The Bucks are a surprising addition to the list, considering the interesting story between Harden and Giannis Antetokounmpo, where the two stars made fun of each other. It would be difficult for Milwaukee to close a deal, considering that the Bucks traded three future choices in the first round and some players to get Jrue Holiday, but if there is mutual interest, Milwaukee may be able to find out something.
With Heat, who just signed the base of the Bam Adebayo franchise for a five-year, $ 163 million span, they have young, attractive players in Tyler Herro and Kendrick Nunn who can be intriguing to Houston.
In order to even consider Harden’s switch, the Rockets are reportedly asking for a return that includes the cornerstone of a young franchise, several first-round choices and / or promising players in rookie contracts.
There are reports of some reservations about switching to Harden, as the teams would like to know that the perennial All-Star would remain for the long term, and would not cancel their contract after the 2021-22 season.
For now, no exchange seems imminent for Harden, and the Rockets are in no hurry to negotiate the centerpiece of their franchise without the right price. After exchanging Russell Westbrook for John Wall and signing a contract with young center Christian Wood during the off-season, the Rockets are clearly sending the message that they are not interested in a complete rebuild. The price asked by Westbrook also indicates that Houston wants to be competitive and not build through the draft.
As the list is now, Houston is still a team that could guarantee a place in the playoffs, but when it comes to winning a championship, that window seems to be closing. We will see if Harden will play this season in Houston, or if the Rockets will grant their star player a request to try to chase a ring elsewhere.