James Harden To The Raptors? Hard to Envision a Deal Happening
The NBA is a stars oriented league. It's a league divided between the haves and the have nots: Teams with superstar talent and championship aspirations and teams looking for a superstar. It's why the news of Giannis Antetokounmpo re-signing with the Milwaukee Bucks was so frustrating for the Toronto Raptors who had hoped to pry the two-time MVP loose this offseason. But the so-called Greek Freak might not be the only superstar on the Raptors' radar.
The organization has reportedly checked in on the Houston Rockets disgruntled guard, James Harden, and are among the frontrunners to land the 31-year-old superstar, according to ESPN Radio's John Granato.
The Raptors are reportedly willing to part ways with the 26-year-old Pascal Siakam to acquire Harden, Granato reported Sunday.
There's no question that Harden is an upgrade from Siakam. He's one of the NBA's truly elite superstars who has single-handedly revolutionized the way basketball is played. Last season he averaged 34.3 points per game, the most in the NBA by almost four points per game. From a basketball perspective, adding Harden is without a doubt a smart move for any NBA team.
But there's another side to this equation that complicates things a little more for the Raptors. For one, Harden has reportedly given the Rockets a list of teams he's willing to go to and Toronto, by all accounts, is not one of them. While he'll probably have some say where he goes, he is still under contract for at least two years, and if he were to be traded to Toronto, I'd expect him to play the same way Kawhi Leonard did when he was reluctantly traded to Toronto for one season before leaving for Los Angeles.
Then there's the culture question with Harden. The Raptors have spent the last decade trying to build a team founded on hard work and development. While there's no questioning Harden's talent, his work ethic and reported love for strip clubs don't exactly jibe with Toronto's no-nonsense culture.
That being said, culture is great, but if the Raptors front office felt that adding Harden would make them a championship-level team, I don't think they'd have any trouble pulling the trigger on a deal.
Lastly, I'm skeptical there's actually a deal that makes sense for both teams. I'm not totally convinced Siakam is on the table for the Rockets, but if he is, as Granato reported, it's hard to see Toronto adding much more to a package that already includes their All-NBA forward. While Siakam is a more attractive piece than Boston's Jaylen Brown or Miami's Tyler Herro in a one-for-one deal, I don't think Toronto would be willing to add more than Siakam to get a deal done and I think Houston would want more.
Any other offers for Harden don't make a ton of sense for both teams. If a deal were to happen before the season, it would have to include either Siakam or Kyle Lowry to make salaries match. Siakam and OG Anunoby, seems like too much for the Raptors to part ways with for two years of Harden while Lowry and Anunoby seems like too little to entice the Rockets to make a deal.
Ultimately, I wouldn't hold your breath on a Harden to the Raptors deal. While I don't doubt that the Raptors have thought about a potential deal, probably even made a call to check in, there likely isn't a deal that makes sense for both sides.
