The Houston Rockets are in a precarious situation right now. Just before the start of the 2020-21 season the Rockets made a blockbuster trade that sent Russell Westbrook to Washington for John Wall. The Rockets made a couple of other player signings in Christian Wood and Demarcus Cousins, got a new coach in Stephen Silas, and also lost their long time GM and James Harden fanatic-Daryl Morrey. Essentially, this is a completely different team from last year.
And now, James Harden has made it pretty clear that he wants out of this organization.. all starting with declining an $100 million dollar 2-year extension – yes, you heard that right. Harden said no to $100 million dollars. After that began the news of potential landing spots for Harden (Nets, 76ers, Miami). All title contenders. Followed by cryptic Instagram posts from James and Daryl Morrey. And then more recently, James spent time away from the team (partying) while they were trying to prepare for the start of the season.
James Harden is without a doubt a superstar player in this league – if not a top 3-5 player. He has been in the MVP conversation every single year for the past 6 years and won the award once (should have won twice).
The thing about Harden is his iso-ball playstyle. Many question whether or not this sort of playstyle can win a championship. He seems to wear down later on in the season from playing 38 minutes a game all season and carrying the work load that he does. And come playoff time, teams start to adapt and shut down his playstyle by either doubling or denying him the ball. James Harden is one of the highest usage players in NBA history. He does it all for his team. The Rockets have tried surrounding Harden with different squads over his tenure in Houston and they have always been able to get so close, but have never been able to cap it off. Arguably, he was going up against the greatest team of all time in the Golden State Warriors for a few of those years and then last year attempting to take down the Monstars in LA with their small ball lineup.
James Harden options:
At this point, winning a title is the most important thing to James Harden. He knows that he is respected among the league and the basketball world as one of the best scorers/players of all time. The one thing he doesn’t want to be known for is – being an all-time player with 0 rings. The modern day Karl Malone.
So, this brings along two options for James.
- Play this season out with the new-look Houston Rockets.
- Demand a trade.
James is 31 years old. He only has a few years left of his prime and he knows this.
Option #1: Play this season out with the new-look Rockets
If James decides to take this option I do believe that this Rockets team could still compete for a title.
John Wall has made a return from almost a 2-year hiatus and he looks phenomenal. He looks as quick as ever and he brings a certain energy that really boosts a teams morale. He is a lot like a Westbrook with a slightly better jump-shot, also a better decision maker. When fully healthy, John is one of the best PG’s in the league.
Christian Wood is looking like the early MIP candidate averaging 25/10 five games into the season. This is a guy who averaged 9 PPG over his previous 5 years. I’m not sure how the other organizations didn’t see some potential in this guy and as a Pelicans fan, this frustrates me because he is looking like a young Anthony Davis right now. Maybe that’s a slight over exaggeration, but this guy has the body/frame & skillset to be something special.
Other than that the Rockets still have a bunch of solid role players in Eric Gordon, Danuel House Jr, PJ Tucker, Boogie, and Sterling Brown.
What James may have to consider to truly make this work is reworking his iso playstyle a tad. Harden can still be the player he is for this team to work and he’ll have to be, but playing alongside another ball dominant player in John Wall means that James will have to improve his ability to play off the ball.
In my eyes, this team has a chance to come out this West if they can get it together come playoff time.
Option #2: Demand a trade
It could be risky for James to take this option right now, even though it’s already pretty clear that he wants out.
The problem with taking this option is that James still has 3 years left on his contract. James Harden is an MVP caliber player and the Rockets have no reason to trade him unless they are getting tons of assets in return. This would be a better option if it was his last year in his contract. Much like the Anthony Davis situation in New Orleans, which ended up working out great for both teams.
The most realistic trade scenario I see happening is one to the 76ers. The 76ers have the all-star player in Ben Simmons to ship over to Houston & they could also throw in some draft picks and a few other players in the deal. James and Embiid could be dangerous. I feel like these two playstyles align very well and if the 76ers are able to hold on to the rest of their starting lineup then this team is instantly a title contender. Also a big reason I believe he could be traded here is because Daryl Morrey is the GM in Philly now. And he obviously really likes James Harden. He wrote an entire article about how James’ saved his career.
So, at the end of the day I do believe James will probably be traded somewhere before this season is over. He just doesn’t seem happy in Houston. The good thing about this whole situation for Houston is that happy or not or whether he’s coming off a weekend in Vegas – this guy will still drop 40/10 the next night.
Like him or not, James Harden is one of the best players in the league – and if he is on your team, you have a chance at making it to the NBA Finals.
