Milwaukee Bucks rumors: Why trading for James Harden is unrealistic
Rumors are escalating about James Harden trade talks, but the Milwaukee Bucks shouldn’t be able to emerge as a viable destination for his services.
Houston Rockets’ superstar James Harden has reportedly requested a trade, and the Milwaukee Bucks are just one of the latest teams to be linked to the disgruntled star.
As the James Harden saga continues to gain attention, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported Thursday morning that Harden has added the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat to the list of his preferred trade destinations, along with the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers.
Harden clearly wants out of Houston after eight seasons with the organization. He’s expressed no desire to play for new head coach Stephen Silas and the Rockets next season and reportedly turned down a two-year, $103 million contract extension from the franchise earlier in the offseason. It’s no secret that the eight-time All-Star is trying to force his way out.
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Nevertheless, the Rockets don’t have to trade Harden. They have him locked under contract for the next two seasons before he stumbles upon his $47.3 million player option for the 2022-23 season. Houston won’t force a trade for Harden at this time, and they’ve reportedly been eminent that they’ll only trade him for a combination of an All-Star caliber player, young talent, and draft pick compensation similar to what the New Orleans Pelicans received from the Jrue Holiday trade.
Although, momentum seems to be shifting for Harden to eventually be traded sooner rather than later following his careless series of actions of partying in Las Vegas and Atlanta instead of attending training camp. In addition, the franchise seems to be heading toward a different direction with the recent departures of general manager Daryl Morey and head coach Mike D’Antoni along with Russell Westbrook and Robert Covington being offloaded via trade this offseason. It’s also important to note that the Rockets can ignore Harden’s requested landing spots and trade him to any team they want since there are no trade restrictions in his contract.
It seems that the preference would be sending Harden to the Eastern Conference, and Brooklyn and Philadelphia seem like they’d be the most suitable destinations for his services with the variety of attractive assets they can offer to Houston. Milwaukee, on the other hand, should have too many complications in any attempt to trade for the 2017-18 MVP.