On Wednesday, the Brooklyn Nets acquired disgruntled superstar James Harden from the Houston Rockets in a massive trade.
Although the Miami Heat were interested in trading for Harden, they were doubtful that the 2018 MVP could rewire his game in a new atmosphere.
“Doubt over whether Harden can rewire his game crept into discussions within teams on the fringes: Boston, Denver, Toronto, Miami, Portland, others,” wrote Zach Lowe of ESPN. “At go time, none were really contenders to get him, sources say.”
Harden, 31, desired to be dealt from the Rockets because he felt the squad wasn’t capable of competing for a title with its current roster.
The Rockets never reached the NBA Finals during Harden’s tenure with the team.
However, Harden’s style of playing basketball was often criticized as the reason why the Rockets never experienced grand success with him at the helm.
Although Harden is one of the best scorers the league has ever seen, he lacks elite energy on the defensive side and depends heavily on isolation on the offensive side. He collected 29.6 points per game as a member of the Rockets.
It appears the Heat were one of the teams unsure if the offensive alpha could be flexible in a new home.
