Should Mavs Trade for James Harden? 3-Team Pipe-Dream Idea
The NBA offseason has slowed to a crawl since the first few weeks of free agency, and the biggest reasons for that could be the trade requests that star guards Damian Lillard and James Harden made to the Portland Trail Blazers and Philadelphia 76ers respectively.
In both cases, the star players are reportedly wanting to go to a specific destination, as Lillard wants the Miami Heat and Harden wants the Los Angeles Clippers. However, that doesn't mean their incumbent teams have to cater to their wishes, especially if opposing teams not on those stars' lists have better trade offers.
As good as Lillard is, the Dallas Mavericks obviously don't need another point guard, as they re-signed Kyrie Irving this summer, and Luka Doncic always plays at the one as well. But could they be a dark horse to make a play for Harden? An interesting, yet completely hypothetical, three-team trade between the Mavs, Sixers and Chicago Bulls was presented by FadeawayWorld.net:
Mavs receive: James Harden. Sixers receive: DeMar DeRozan, 2025 second-round pick (TOR via DAL), 2028 second-round pick (MIA via DAL). Bulls receive: Christian Wood (sign-and-trade), Tim Hardaway Jr., 2027 first-round pick (DAL).
Given that Harden is less than a month away from turning 34 years old and is on an expiring contract, the Sixers will have to temper their expectations for what they can get for him in a trade. With that being said, replacing Harden's production with another aging star shooting guard in DeMar DeRozan could be one of Philly's best options.
If Harden made his way to Dallas, there would surely be questions about whether he'd be able to coexist with Doncic and Irving, but if healthy, that trio would be dangerous enough to make the Mavs true title contenders. When Harden played with Irving and Kevin Durant with the Brooklyn Nets, they sported a record of 13-3 when all of them were on the floor together. One would think similar results could be had with Doncic, Irving and Harden in Dallas.
Despite age causing him to take a step back from his MVP form, Harden is still a very productive star player, as he averaged 21.0 points, 6.1 rebounds and 10.7 assists in 58 games for the Sixers last season. He shot 44.1 percent from the field, 38.5 percent from deep and 86.7 percent from the free-throw line.
Although Dallas is reportedly being very careful with its 2027 first-round pick, trading it alongside Christian Wood and Tim Hardaway Jr. for a star player in return would be hard for the front office to turn its nose up at, even with the risks that come along with it.
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