Why James Harden Will Not Be Traded

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It’s no secret that the past couple of years for Harden have not been the greatest. First, forcing his way out of Houston to Brooklyn, then within the same season asking out of Brooklyn to Philly. It wasn’t a shock when Harden asked out after hopping into his extension and wanting to be traded. According to reports, it seems like Harden wants to be with the Los Angeles Clippers to play alongside Kawahi Leonard and Paul George, two very distinguished players in the league.

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I cannot stress to you how much I think it is a bad idea for Harden to go to the Clippers, and how bad it is for the Clippers to even be involved. On paper, the Clippers would look amazing with three all-stars in today's game and Russel Westbrook sitting on the bench. However, over-saturation with talent is a real thing in the NBA. Some players will most likely not get touches, then end up missing open baskets and even open passes that you can make to get a bucket. It all comes from the mentality of only thinking about yourself as an individual's stats. I believe with the combination of how often Harden needs the ball in his hand to be effective and the fact that he holds the ball more on the offensive side, I don’t think it would cook up nicely for the Clippers. I think it will blow up right up their face.

Let’s look back to last year when Harden was traded from Houston to Brooklyn. Harden was traded for Caris LeVert and Rodions Kurucs from the Nets, Dante Exum from the Cleveland Cavaliers, three first-round picks from the Nets, one first-round pick from the Cavaliers, and four first-round pick swaps. This was the best deal Houston could get out of Brooklyn because of their loyalty to Harden. They didn’t want to give up Harden because Houston thought that he could lead Jalen Green and Alpharen Sengun into the playoffs. Harden did not want to be part of another rebuild. The timeline for his absence was going to come to fruition sooner or later but ended up earlier because of how well-regarded Harden is amongst the Rockets organization.

Now, let’s look into the trade for Brooklyn, to Philly. Philly sent over Ben Simmons, who was still in his own regard good at basketball at the time. The former number-one pick had a rough year before, fumbling the final basket that could have won Philly the series. Ever since then, Simmons has been a shell of his former self, and it’s not to disrespect him. Mental health in men is a serious issue, however, it did affect his game. So, Philly ended up trading Simmons much later than originally expected, for Harden. Brooklyn received Simmons and Seth Curry, the younger brother of Steph Curry.

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It’s safe to say that the Brooklyn Nets have been through hell the past couple of seasons with the Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving drama. It did not help when Harden came to fruition either, infact, it only made that problem worse. At least now it seems that all that drama is over, and they have found a new core to build around. Mikal Bridges is the future of the Brooklyn Nets, that’s if another team doesn’t swoop him off his feet.