James Harden is once again playing as he used to when he was on the Houston Rockets in his prime. He is currently averaging 27.9 points, 8.4 assists, and 5.7 rebounds while shooting 37.8% from the three-point line. Thus, playing like an All-Star caliber elite player.
However, the Los Angeles Clippers are not looking anywhere close to being as good as the Rockets were when Harden played there. They are currently the 13th seed in the Western Conference and have a 5-13 record in the regular season.
Former NBA champion Jeff Teague believes Harden should not waste his talents on the Clippers, who don’t seem to have a chance of winning an NBA title in the near future. He feels that Harden should push for a trade and try to return to his former franchise so that he can compete for a championship at this stage in his career.
“They need to trade James Harden. I love James. Y’all know I’m probably the biggest James Harden fan… But I think he should go back to Houston, bro. He’s still playing such a high level of basketball, bro. He’s averaging 28, eight, and eight or something like that,” said Teague on the latest episode of the ‘Club 520’ podcast.
“He is playing a high level of basketball to be wasting on… I know he’s from LA, and I’m pretty sure he loves being at the crib. But dawg, they’re bad. It ain’t bad for him to step back to the H, the hometown. And just go down there and just try to win a chip, bro. They got the pieces right there,” said Teague confidently.
“Fred [VanVleet]. And I love him, we rock with him,” said Teague when asked who the Rockets should build a trade package around. A wishful Teague also believes that the Rockets could land James Harden in a trade without giving up any core pieces from their roster.
“No, they can get off that money. Yeah, because they’re trying to get off that money now. I mean, they’re bad. They need to start over. Yeah, you got Kawhi getting paid. You got James getting paid,” said Teague while explaining why the Clippers could trade Harden for a bargain price.
“I mean, I don’t know who else is over there. I’m sure they’re paying some more people, but you can get off that money, and Fred is about to be a free agent. So, if you do a change now, I’m sure they’ll be willing to give up James Harden for that expiring contract.”
Harden is currently on a $39.1 million salary for 2025-26 and then has a player option for a $42 million salary next season. Meanwhile, Fred VanVleet has a player option of $25 million after this season, where he’s also earning $25 million.
As much as this situation would be in the Rockets’ benefit, the league’s rules and financial restrictions would simply not allow that due to the second apron. Thus, the Rockets would preferably not want to put their future in peril by moving for Harden by taking a major hit on their finances.
“And then you can do whatever you want to try to trade for LaMelo or whatever. But I just think James is playing such a high level right now that he should be able to compete. I’ll hate for James Harden to never win a championship,” said Teague in conclusion.
While this is an ideal situation for James Harden, as he would then be playing on a championship-contending team, I do not see any of the franchises having a real reason to make such a move.
The Clippers would not want to trade an All-Star caliber player for negligible returns just to gain some financial flexibility. Moreover, if they decide to make this move, they would definitely look for a better return than a player like Fred VanVleet, who is returning from a potentially career-altering injury.
Moreover, giving away a star player to trade on the possibility of convincing another star player like LaMelo Ball to join their franchise amid all the turmoil he’s facing in Charlotte would be a risky move for the Clippers.
Furthermore, the discourse around the Rockets needing a point guard started long before the Clippers even faced this crisis of becoming a bottom-tier team in the regular season. Ever since Fred VanVleet got injured in the offseason, several experts have been contemplating ways in which the Rockets could bring on a starting-caliber guard.
However, it seems they have found a solution internally in Reed Sheppard, who has finally broken into the starting lineup. The 21-year-old guard from Kentucky could be the Rockets’ long-term solution to a point guard as he is averaging 13.1 points, 3.2 assists, and 2.3 rebounds, while shooting 47.1% from the three-point line.
I know it is nowhere close to how Harden is performing right now, but the Rockets have no reason to lose patience with a promising young prospect when they already look like they are a championship-contending team. Therefore, as much as this hypothetical move could benefit James Harden and the Rockets, I do not see it happening.
