Dallas Basketball

Would Mavs James Harden Trade Fit with Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving?

With NBA free agency brewing, the Dallas Mavericks have big plans. Could those plans include some kind of involvement with the Philadelphia 76ers and James Harden working on a trade?
Dalton Trigg|
Would Mavs James Harden Trade Fit with Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving?
Would Mavs James Harden Trade Fit with Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving?

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Dallas Mavericks

NBA free agency is set to open in about 24 hours, but it appears that some teams’ plans are already being set in motion. ... and maybe the Dallas Mavs need to get themselves in motion as well.

According to a report from The Athletic’s Shams Charania, James Harden is picking up his player option and working with the Philadelphia 76ers on finding him a new home via trade.

“James Harden is opting into his $35.6 million deal for next season in order for the 10-time NBA All-Star and the 76ers to work together on a trade out of Philadelphia, league sources told The Athletic,” Shams wrote. “The Clippers and potentially one more team are expected to emerge as interested franchises in trade talks with the 76ers, league sources say.”

Given that a Mavericks star guard - Kyrie Irving - is reportedly taking meetings with other teams to start free agency, one has to wonder if the could potentially be that “one more team” to have interest in Harden. Or, short of that, we wonder if Dallas should be that "one more team.''

(There are rumors that the New York Knicks want in. And it seems Harden's "adopted home town'' of Houston is not a likely destination.)

Harden has a style of play that many find reminiscent of Luka Doncic's. Would that be a positive for them as teammates? Is there a way for Dallas to assemble a "Big 3'' here, which would require the Mavs to court Harden ... something that has not been a Dallas speciality?

We know the Mavs aren't done trying to roster-build, maybe in a big way. Flirting with James Harden, who has experienced some controversial moments that some think put him in a class in that category with Kyrie? That would be one of the biggest ways.

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Dalton Trigg
DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.

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