Houston Rockets: 3 assets to target in James Harden trade
By Dalton Sell
James Harden remains persistent about being traded from the Houston Rockets, but who could the franchise get back in a potential deal?
The clock is ticking on James Harden’s tenure with the Houston Rockets.
Among several reports of Harden’s tension and discontent with the franchise, the Rockets have still not given in and moved the former league MVP. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, this predicament “has a chance to carry on into the foreseeable future,” with no trade offers coming close to their hefty asking price.
Speculation looms large whether the team will continue to try and repair the fractured relationship with their star player or if he will get his wish to be traded. If the Houston Rockets go with the latter, here are three assets they should be targeting in return.
No. 3 Michael Porter Jr. – Denver Nuggets
Michael Porter Jr. is one of the league’s ascending stars, and that makes him an intriguing target for the Houston Rockets in any potential returning package for James Harden. Indeed, Mike Singer of The Denver Post reported that the Rockets are targeting Porter in any deal with the Denver Nuggets, but traction has been virtually nonexistent.
Porter’s NBA career got off to a rough start as he missed the entirety of his rookie season in 2018-19 due to a back injury. The following year, he showed substantial potential primarily as a piece off the bench, and that paved the way for a big year in 2020-21.
As a full-time starter, the 22-year-old has been fantastic to start this season, averaging 19.5 points on .566/.423/.875 shooting splits with 6.8 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game. Porter has also impacted defensively in the early going, having averaged 1.5 blocks and a single steal per game throughout the first four contests.
Denver is justifiably reluctant to include the forward in any trade packages, but for James Harden, it has to be compelling to some extent, given their woeful 1-4 start. If the Denver Nuggets decide they want to become a juggernaut in the Western Conference with a trade for Harden, Porter Jr. would certainly be a centerpiece in the deal. That would give the Houston Rockets a 22-year-old budding star and likely a considerable amount of draft compensation and salary filler to finally get Harden off the books.