Miami Heat Reportedly Among the Preferred Destinations for James Harden
Miami Heat team president Pat Riley has often said he wants to find a whale via trade or free agency.
According to a report by The Athletic, the Heat are among the favorite landing spots for Houston Rockets guard James Harden. The report said the Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers and the Brooklyn Nets are Harden's top choices.
Harden has been among the league's top players for the past several seasons. Last year he averaged 34.5 points, 7.5 assists and 6.6 rebounds.
Here are the odds of Harden's next team according to www.BetOnline.ag
Miami Heat 5/2
Brooklyn Nets 11/4
Toronto Raptors 7/2
Philadelphia 76ers 5/1
Boston Celtics 15/2
Denver Nuggets 9/1
Milwaukee Bucks 10/1
Los Angeles Clippers 18/1
The Heat returned most of their core from last year’s team that lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. The only departures were forwards Solomon Hill (Atlanta Hawks), Jae Crowder (Phoenix Suns) and Derrick Jones Jr (Portland Trail Blazers). The new additions include guards Moe Harkless and Avery Bradley. They also drafted forward Precious Achiuwa out of Memphis.
The Heat were also able to re-sign veterans Meyers Leonard and Goran Dragic to keep the bulk of their team intact. Spoelstra feels it will give them an advantage over teams that overhauled their roster. The Heat open the season at home Dec. 25 against the New Orleans Pelicans.
“It was nice,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “It’s still a business but we really felt good about our last year and how the group grew together. It is not easy in this league to do what we’re trying to accomplish. The competition is fierce but we’re very grateful we were able to bring back the majority of our group back.”
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