Before the Cleveland Cavaliers traded for superstar guard James Harden, there was reportedly another team that his representatives inquired about seeking a deal with: the Houston Rockets.
According to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Tim MacMahon, Harden’s team reached out to Houston to gauge their interest in acquiring the former MVP from the then-reeling Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers, who started 6-21, were in the midst of several crises and the subject of many trade rumors to try to right the ship.
There had been mutual interest in both Harden’s camp and the Rockets’ over the past several years, according to ESPN.
But the Rockets, having moved away from that heliocentric type of player, were not interested in adding. One source told ESPN that, while it would be intriguing to have as great a player as Harden on the young Rockets team, they wanted to develop players like Reed Sheppard, Alperen Sengun, and Amen Thompson instead. This was not the first time that Houston had spurned the chance to acquire Harden, having done so twice before.
Another source told ESPN that the Rockets “weren’t going to put the ball in James’ hands anyway”, and questioned the need to trade for someone that requires the rock to be impactful. All this despite the fact that Houston was without their starting point guard, Fred Van Vleet, who suffered a torn ACL before the season started.
As history would tell it, the Cavs swooped in and acquired Harden for Darius Garland and a second-round pick. The move, which garnered plenty of criticism and raised eyebrows across the league, was the kind of risk that the Rockets were not willing to take. But for the Cavs, it was worth it to raise their championship window for the next year or two just a smidge wider.
Part of the wink and nudge of the deal with the Clippers was probably a contract extension for Harden, who doesn’t have too many of them left in his Hall of Fame career. After all, the Cavs very likely would not move on from their former All-Star point guard in Garland — 10 years younger than Harden — for just half a season of Harden. But perhaps that is not a forgone conclusion given the reported mutual interest in a return to Space City.
The Cavs figure to be one of the more interesting teams this upcoming offseason, whether that occurs after this series with Detroit or beyond. Harden’s contract is a big part of the equation that Koby Altman must solve.
