Houston Rockets management is scrambling to make a trade for James Harden that will give them what they perceive to be equal value for the reigning scoring leader. Negotiations in recent weeks have indicated that the Philadelphia 76ers, the Brooklyn Nets, and the Miami Heat were at the top of the list in terms of destinations for Harden, but now more options are emerging.
According to the New York Times’ Marc Stein while the Sixers and Nets are favorites to snag the former MVP, three additional teams have entered potential trade talks.
“The Sixers and the Nets, though, may not be the only other options: In recent days, it has become known that Toronto, Boston and Denver have also had exploratory talks with Houston.”
East and West Conference runners-up Denver Nuggets and Boston Celtics prodding to acquire the superstar raises some interesting questions. Both teams have held on to the majority of their young core, building around them with chemistry and development at the forefront.
The former 2019 NBA Champions are another interesting destination, having just recently committed to one of their own promising youngsters, OG Anunoby. Toronto also lost veteran big men Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka during free agency.
Stein predicted earlier in his “On Basketball” newsletter that James Harden will be traded no later than January 25th, a bit of time off from another report from Sports Illustrated journalist Farbod Esnaashari saying he will be traded before the start of the regular season, which is today.
The Rockets organization just recently traded another former MVP, Russell Westbrook, for John Wall and a first-round pick, which was an interesting evaluation of MVP caliber talent. Now that Harden’s MVP caliber talent is up for grabs, it will be interesting to see what Houston thinks equal value for the do-it-all scorer is.
