{"id":52607,"date":"2023-08-19T08:00:37","date_gmt":"2023-08-19T12:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=52607"},"modified":"2023-08-19T00:33:31","modified_gmt":"2023-08-19T04:33:31","slug":"james-harden-delusional-about-trade-value","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2023\/08\/19\/james-harden-delusional-about-trade-value\/","title":{"rendered":"Why James Harden Is Delusional About His Trade Value"},"content":{"rendered":"

One lesser-known fact about the NBA is that many players actually despise the team that they play for. This fact was put on full display recently by James Harden<\/a><\/strong>, who was more than content openly voicing his displeasure with the Philadelphia 76ers<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Keep in mind this is Harden\u2019s third team in three years<\/a>. Starting with the Houston Rockets<\/a><\/strong> and then the Brooklyn Nets<\/a><\/strong> before being traded to the Sixers to reunite with former Rockets general manager Daryl Morey. The same Daryl Morey whom Harden alleged to be a \u201cliar\u201d and someone who he\u2019d never play for again. A far cry from the Harden that was ecstatic at the prospect of joining forces just a year ago.<\/p>\n

Why James Harden Is Delusional About His Trade Value<\/h2>\n

The rift between both parties was allegedly a contractual dispute, with Morey not following on a financial promise made to Harden. The agreement would have likely delivered Harden another max extension worth hundreds of millions of dollars.<\/p>\n

This is where James Harden\u2019s delusion and lack of awareness come into full effect.<\/p>\n

In a day and age where teams move on for players like it\u2019s nothing, Harden\u2019s logic here is a tad bit off. A max extension for a 33-year-old whose greatest rival is the Second Round of the playoffs is extremely unappealing<\/a>. The fact that Harden himself thought this was realistic is surprising.<\/p>\n

Even prior, Harden should\u2019ve seen this coming a mile away. Many of his old teammates, such as Russell Westbrook<\/a><\/strong> and Chris Paul<\/a><\/strong>, settling for veteran minimum deals should\u2019ve been a tell-tale sign. Former superstars whose prime is now a thing of the past do not carry much value on the open market. Especially for one whose dedication to basketball has always been questionable at best. Westbrook and CP3 have at least shown a desire to want to contribute to winning. Harden can\u2019t even guarantee that.<\/p>\n

Where Does Harden Go From Here?<\/h3>\n

As for now, Harden has publicly requested a trade to the Los Angeles Clippers<\/a><\/strong>, a team that isn\u2019t willing to give up much more than chump change for him. It\u2019s funny how even the Clippers realize this more than Harden himself. His trade value is at an all-time low, and his recent actions have plummeted them even further.<\/p>\n

On top of all this, Harden has reportedly stated that he plans to make the Sixers’ life difficult if his wishes aren\u2019t granted. His wish is to be traded to a team that barely even wants him.<\/p>\n

Regardless, it would probably be best for Harden to do the exact opposite of what he intends to do. Laying low for a while would cause all this to blow over, and a potential transaction could be orchestrated. If this is doable, it would be best for Harden to showcase that he actually can play winning basketball. For whatever team he\u2019s traded to, without quitting when the going gets rough.<\/p>\n

If he\u2019s not able to do so, unfortunately, this may be the end for James Harden. His MVP days are likely behind him, and max money after this point seems unlikely. Similarly, his perceived lack of interest in basketball also makes him an unfavorable candidate for teams looking for veteran leadership. Thus, Harden would\u2019ve effectively played his way out of the NBA.<\/p>\n

This would definitely be a hard fall-off for someone whose step-back jumper and countless free throws once wreaked havoc across the league. Hopefully, Harden realizes this himself and reverses this situation before it\u2019s too late. It\u2019ll be hard for him to accept less money after all he\u2019s accomplished, but it\u2019s better than nothing. Simply put, it might be his only option to stay in the NBA.<\/p>\n

The Aftermath<\/h3>\n

Evidently, Harden has put himself in a difficult situation here. Teams are no longer likely to trade for him, and even if they do, their offers will be far less than expected. It\u2019s also important to remember the Sixers do hold an interesting leverage in this situation.<\/p>\n

The league’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement states that, since Harden opted into his player option, he will not be allowed to sit out games. If he doesn\u2019t play next season and the Sixers don\u2019t trade him, Philly holds the right to prevent him from entering free agency. Definitely not the ideal outcome for the All-NBA guard.<\/p>\n

The Last Word on James Harden<\/h3>\n

Thus, it makes all the more sense for Harden to fix all of this while he still can. Whether that means opting to play for Philadelphia or accepting a trade to a team other than the Clippers, the ball is currently in Harden\u2019s court. It always has been. It just seems as if he doesn\u2019t care to get back in the game. This time though, it\u2019s different. As the ten-time All-Star said himself, “It’s time to get uncomfortable.” This only applies to him, though, not his team. Harden\u2019s wake from delusion will be necessary if he wishes to continue his NBA career. If not, he will only be the latest addition to the long list of what \u201conce was.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One lesser-known fact about the NBA is that many players actually despise the team that they play for. This fact was put on full display recently by James Harden, who was more than content openly voicing his displeasure with the Philadelphia 76ers. Keep in mind this is Harden\u2019s third team in three years. Starting with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4666,"featured_media":52629,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13,1608,62],"tags":[1107,444,605],"class_list":["post-52607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-76ers","category-basketball","category-nba","tag-daryl-morey","tag-james-harden","tag-nba-eastern-conference"],"modified_by":"Reese Kunz","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52607","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4666"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52607"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52607\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}