A James Harden-Houston Rockets reunion is a mistake for all sides

Why a reunion would be bad for all parties:

On paper, the logic of Harden returning to Houston is sound: he’d step in as the veteran point guard, organize the young talent, and lead a team built on lottery picks back to the playoffs.
In practice, however, this move would be a net negative for all parties.

At his age, Harden’s best role on a team is not as a leading superstar but as a supporting star. Expecting him to draw defensive attention at a star level and elevate an offense to his past levels is not fair to a player who has transitioned his game and lost a bit of a step athletically.

Alongside Green, Sengun, and Smith Jr., Harden would be expected to carry a heavy load and get the youngster involved on offense. While he’d likely help organize the offense, he’d also take away valuable on-ball reps for the lottery talent in Houston, which could stunt their development.

The fit on defense would be even worse. Harden is a negative defensive player at his age, and putting him in the point-of-attack for the 2nd-worst defense in the league is asking for trouble. He’d only exacerbate the current problems for the Rockets without giving them enough of a boost on offense to make up for it.

Most importantly, however, is the fact that Harden and the Rockets are on opposite trajectories. While Harden is entering the tail end of his career and is focused on winning, the Rockets are still a few years away from even sniffing the playoffs. By signing Harden, the team would be admitting defeat on their rebuild, as they lack the talent required to compete in the postseason.

Although the ideas are always fun, a reunion between James Harden and the Houston Rockets would be a messy fit at best and a terrible fit at worst. It would be risky and prone to disaster, something neither the team nor the player wants nor can afford at this juncture.