The Miami Heat aren’t quitting on their pursuit of disgruntled Houston Rockets superstar James Harden.
According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com, the Heat, Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors have all made courtesy calls for the former MVP.
“It is not a coincidence that a number of teams such as the Celtics, 76ers, Heat, Nets and Raptors — teams that are in the ‘good not great’ zone — have at least made a courtesy call to the Rockets, sources said. Even the Bucks, sources said, at least had an internal conversation about it and ran it past Giannis Antetokounmpo before deciding not to get involved,” wrote Windhorst. “They had to; with the current landscape, Harden’s eventual destination is on the mind of everyone in this tightly packed race.”
Harden, 31, has been in the news for bad reasons lately.
The veteran reportedly requested a trade before the season started. Harden would like to go to a team where he can compete for a championship.
Although the Rockets have gone to the playoffs every year Harden’s been on the team, they haven’t been to the NBA Finals in that span. Of course, the Heat went to the 2020 NBA Finals.
The Heat would surely love a player of Harden’s caliber. The guard has led the league in scoring in each of the last three seasons. Harden collected 34.3 points, 7.5 assists and 6.6 rebounds per game last season.
Yet, the Heat had reportedly dispatched themselves from Harden discussions during the regular season.
