The Houston Rockets were hoping that their recently acquired All-Star point guard John Wall would be enough to convince disgruntled star James Harden to stay. It has not worked.
The former MVP and three-time scoring champion Harden is still looking to be traded from Houston. Harden is not interested in pursuing another partnership with Houston or teaming with Wall. The All-Star guard wants to be traded to either the Brooklyn Nets or the Philadelphia 76ers. The former remains the scoring champion’s top destination choice.
The Rockets have engaged in trade talks with both the Nets and the 76ers for a package deal. However, there was no agreement with either team as the 76ers are not willing to include either All-Stars Ben Simmons or Joel Embiid in a potential trade deal. While Houston is not interested in the Nets’ complimentary players or draft picks, neither are the teams interested in including Kyrie Irving in a potential deal.
In addition, teams are reluctant to trade for the franchise star player because they are not sure if he will stay with them. Harden can opt-out after the 2021-2022 season. Contending teams do not have enough assets to acquire the star either.
Houston was hoping that trading Russell Westbrook to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Wall would convince Harden to stay. The former Wizard star has expressed excitement in teaming in Houston with the unhappy star. Wall told reporters, “I think me and James can be a heck of a combination.” The point guard expressed hope saying, “I just hope we get the opportunity to get into the regular season and see how it goes.”
The former league MVP is expected to pass his sixth COVID-19 test on Monday. He will be able to join team practices after he passes the test first. Despite being unhappy being in Houston, Harden is going to be professional as he understands that it will take time for a trade deal to happen. Furthermore, he understands that if he were to act unhappy, it will hinder his trade value and any possible trades.
