Golden State Warriors rumors: 3 reasons not to trade for James Harden

1. James Harden is not a winner, and the Warriors know it

It is entirely too simplistic to evaluate a player based on their number of rings. James Jones or Robert Horry are not better players than Charles Barkley or Karl Malone. Yet the greatest players elevate their play and their team when the games matter the most, and others wilt and can’t make the same impact as they do in the regular season.

That description fits James Harden perfectly. He is one of the all-time great regular season offensive players. Just by being on the court, he creates a top-10 offense. Surround him with the current “Inside the NBA” cast and he would win 30 games on the back of incredible offensive play.

Come the postseason, Harden’s wizardry turns into card tricks. He can’t get all of the same foul calls, the recovery to open shooters is faster, the isolation defenders better skilled. Teams in the postseason have game plans specifically manufactured to stop James Harden.

More so than game planning, Harden simply doesn’t play as well in the playoffs. His shooting percentages drop, his effort level waxes and wanes, and he seems to give up on games before the end. Some players have a bad rap about the postseason, losing because they haven’t had the talent around them to break through. Others simply play worse when the lights are brightest, and that is unfortunately Harden’s story.

The Warriors know this first-hand, having knocked Harden and the Houston Rockets out of the playoffs in four of the last five seasons. The first time around it was Harrison Barnes coming up clutch defending Harden. Later it was Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala comparing notes and stonewalling his scoring punch.

The final straw for Harden was the 2018-19 NBA playoffs. The Warriors lost Kevin Durant to injury and the Rockets had their chance to seal the deal and finally drop their rivals. Instead, he wilted in the pivotal Game 6, chucking shots to the tune of 35 points on a whopping 31 shooting possessions and finishing -10 in a five-point loss.

Even short-handed, the Warriors find a way to rise to their highest-heights. They have throughout this run with Stephen Curry, Thompson and Draymond Green. Their fiery power forward said it best: “There are 82-game players, then there are 16-game players.” Nothing from his track record suggests Harden is a 16-game player. This team would have no confidence in “going to war” with James Harden.

There is no denying the fact that James Harden is a special offensive talent, and while he does take a step back in the playoffs he was also on the cusp of making the NBA Finals in 2018. Yet his poor fit in the offense, his self-focused attitude and his playoff wilting all combine to scream the answer to a question the Warriors must be asking themselves right now.

“Should we trade for James Harden?” For the Golden State Warriors, the answer is simple: no.