In the early stages of the 2021 season, when James Harden was still available for trade, the Miami Heat were seen as the frontrunners to land him, and Harden himself was keen on landing there. Apparently, things progressed so far, that Jimmy Butler signed off with his approval.
"As Harden delayed his arrival to training camp in December, the Heat became the front-runner for him. Harden's main preference was—and always was—the Nets, but he had no problem going to Miami. Jimmy Butler had even OK'd the trade,according to a league source."
(BleacherReport) pic.twitter.com/AVg8CMz44k
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 3, 2021
Coming off an appearance in the Finals, the Miami Heat entered this season with a lot of optimism and hope regarding their mission to bring a title back to their city. After falling into an early hole, the team surfaced in numerous trade rumors over the past few months.
James Harden would have been an ideal fit for the club. Alongside Jimmy Butler and a franchise engrained with a winning culture, Harden could have been the piece that the team needed to finally secure their playoff dreams.
Alas, it just wasn’t meant to be. As great as it would have been, the Heat decided to stick with their guns and bet on their own personnel to succeed.
So far, that strategy hasn’t yielded the desired results. But, we’ll see what happens in the coming weeks.
