Is It Time for the Rockets to Consider Trading for James Harden?

The Houston Rockets have not beared the look of a contender of late. Not in the slightest.

Not when you lose to teams like the New Orleans Pelicans and Sacramento Kings. Sure, the Rockets jumped out to double-digit leads in both games.

That makes it worse, however. The Rockets had a 25-point lead against the Pelicans and lost in overtime.

And a 14-point lead over the Kings and lost in overtime.

To two of the worst teams in the entire NBA (and definitely in the Western Conference).

The Rockets have been marred by a lack of offensive execution late in the games (and defensive also, to a lesser degree).

And although it seems like a cop-out to say, the Rockets’ need for a point guard couldn’t be more glaring.

With that being said, they shouldn’t need a point guard to beat the worst of the worst teams in the league. But right now, they do.

It’s still early in the season. Having a table-setter and floor general would open things up and help the Rockets get into their sets and actions.

And it would put Amen Thompson back into his natural position on the wing, which would do so much for him offensively.

He’s passing on scoring opportunities that he’d normally take (at least that he’s taken in the past). A lot of what he’s been doing is just feeding Houston’s superstars and merely standing around on the perimeter, which negates his athleticism.

He still drives to the rim but hesitates to actually let the shot off.

And although Houston boasts the league’s third-best offensive rating, that’s boosted by their league-leading 18.6 second-chance points and offensive rebounding prowess.

According to former All-Star and NBA champion Jeff Teague, Houston should turn to LA Clippers star guard James Harden to unlock the offense. Teague explained on his Club 520 podcast.

“They need to trade for James Harden. They need to trade for James and tell James you want him to play like he was in Brooklyn. Be the point guard.

Defense it don’t really matter cause they struggle to guard anyways. I mean, they’re not a bad defensive team, not horrible. But Ime got a good way of getting the best out of players.

I think he could challenge James Harden enough to where he’ll guard defensively. And then I think they got a team that’s capable of making a real run in the playoffs, so I think James…obviously, he’s still playing at a high level right now, but I think he’ll be motivated. Cause I think he knows he got a real chance to do something in the West because the league is open.

Him and KD being together how dynamic they are scoring, with some of these young guys. Still Sengun..They got a real chance.”

Harden, easily one of the Rockets’ greatest players, is averaging 25.8 points, 8.2 assists, 5.2 rebounds, 44 percent from the field, 37.6 percent from three and 88.5 percent from the foul line.

His LA Clippers are clearly not contending this season. They’re 7-21.

They won’t be making the playoffs, or the play-in tournament. And they’re an older team, in need of youth and draft capital. Trading Harden would be wise for them.

Mathematically, as a frame of reference, Fred VanVleet and Dorian Finney-Smith would be enough salary to clear Harden’s $39.1 million, although challenges exist with such a deal.

VanVleet has an implied no-trade clause, and would have to sign off on such a move. He’s also still been around the team and has been a vocal leader on the sidelines.

Would the Rockets have a morale drop if they traded him? Perhaps.

And they likely want to see what they have in Finney-Smith before even considering shipping him off. That also gets tricky, as he signed a four-year deal this past offseason.

Most teams aren’t looking to commit to long-term salary.

Either way, Houston could certainly benefit from adding a point guard. The pathway to adding Harden could be challenging.