James Harden has expressed interest in being traded to the Los Angeles Clippers but here are three other teams that will suit him very well.
James Harden has been one of the best players in the NBA since 2013. In that time he was the 2018 MVP, a 10-time All-Star, seven-time All-NBA member, a three-time scoring champion, a two-time assist champion and a member of the 75th Anniversary team. The only thing that is missing from James Harden's legacy is a championship.
Harden has now played for four teams in the league, the Thunder, Rockets, Nets, and 76ers. Every single team he has played for has been in championship contention but has come up short every single time.
Harden is now interested in leaving the 76ers and his top team is reportedly the Los Angeles Clippers. Here are three other teams that could be great suitors for Harden.
No. 3 potential suitor for James Harden: Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are a team that Harden is very familiar with. He has played the majority of his career with the Rockets where he won an MVP, three scoring titles, one assist title, and made the Western Conference Finals twice.
Last season the Rockets finished with one of the worst records in the league at 22-60. In the draft they got Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore and then in free agency they signed Fred Vanvleet, Dillion Brooks, Jeff Green, Aaron Holiday, and Jock Landale.
Based off of these moves the Rockets are indicating a few things, the first being they are trying to make a play-in push. The second is, with all of their young talent, they have players available to trade for players like Harden.
In order for the 76ers and Rockets to pull off this trade, it would have to be later in the season until certain contracts become available to trade. Nonetheless the 76ers could get Kevin Porter Jr., Cam Whitmore, Amen Thompson, and/or Fred VanVleet in this trade.
Not only would the 76ers get talent and depth that they need but Harden gets to go to a situation where he becomes the best player on the team. With all the young talent he would be playing with, he would have the opportunity to enhance the play of Jabari Smith Jr. and Alperen Sengun.
Even though the Rockets would not be championship contenders with Harden, it is more than possible that he would want to go back to the team that gave him his chance to break through as a superstar.
No. 2 potential suitor for James Harden: New Orleans Pelicans
The New Orleans Pelicans should be one of the teams that would want to get James Harden. Ever since they got the first overall pick in the 2019 draft, used to select Zion Williamson, they have been trying to turn their team into championship contenders.
Unfortunately for the Pelicans, Williamson has been unable to stay healthy for a full season as he has played in 114 games out of a possible 308. Last season before Zion's season ended the Pelicans were the two seed in the west.
One of the reasons the Pelicans would be a perfect match for Harden is because of Zion. Both will be able to play alongside each other perfectly has Zion will have one of the best playmakers in the league, Harden will also provide great floor spacing and offensive genius to this team.
If the Pelicans and 76ers did a trade the Pelicans would have to give up either CJ McCollum or Brandon Ingram, along with Trey Murphy III and a few first round picks. In an ideal world for the Pelicans they would want to give up McCollum instead of Ingram.
Since the Pelicans starting lineup would include Harden, Ingram, and Williamson, they would be one of the favorites to come out of the Western Conference.
Without Zion in their lineup last season the Pelicans went 25-28 which resulted in them being a play-in team and not a playoff team. Since it is more than likely that Zion will be hurt at some point during the season, Harden is great enough to keep the team afloat when Zion isn't playing.
Harden would be a great fit for the Pelicans and a team that he should consider going too.
No. 1 potential suitors for James Harden: Miami Heat
If the Miami Heat are unable to acquire Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers, then they should go after James Harden. The Heat have been missing one piece in their title hopes since the 2020 season which is another co-star for Jimmy Butler.
Most notable in this past postseason, the Heat lacked a secondary scorer alongside Butler as night after night one of their role players would step up and give them a big game. Harden can easily be that co-star for Butler.
In order for the 76ers and Heat to pull off this trade is for the Heat to give up at least Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson for Harden. Still having Kyle Lowry, Caleb Martin, Kevin Love and potential come up players the Heat usually have, they would be in a perfect position to make another championship run.
Harden will provide another level of scoring and playmaking that the Heat desperately need. It has also been obvious that in the postseason Butler ramps up his play to an all-star level but, as he continues to do everything on the court, Butler seems to get tired in the playoffs the deeper the Heat go.
Harden's top option, that isn't the Clippers, should be the Miami Heat. Their culture, coaching staff, front office is top tier and would give him one of his best chances to win a championship.
