Late on Monday night, the NBA Trade Deadline got all the more interesting, as it was reported that James Harden and the Los Angeles Clippers are working on finding a trade before Thursday's deadline. As of now, the Cleveland Cavaliers appear to be the frontrunners with a Darius Garland swap in mind.
My first reaction was Harden is unhappy again? Really, the Clippers are 16-4 over their past 20 games? After the initial shock, my next thought was, please god don't let the Minnesota Timberwolves be interested in him. I'm sure I wasn't alone in this reaction. Thankfully, reporting from The Stein Line noted that Minnesota isn't interested in Harden's services. Phew, that was close.
"Sources say that Harden, through various stretches of this season, has also eyed Minnesota and Atlanta as teams that appeal to him as potential landing spots, but neither the Timberwolves nor the Hawks are expected to pursue such a deal."
Trading for Harden would be a disaster
Once again, Harden wants a new contract, and his new team doesn't want to pay him. Does that sound familiar? In any event, it's a clear red flag. As is Harden's poor track record in the playoffs. Frankly, no team should want him unless they are moving off an undesirable contract and/or aren't serious title contenders.
Harden is a future Hall of Famer and is still (remarkably) playing at an All-Star level. Nevertheless, the risks in trading for a 36-year-old guard are immense. At some point in the not-too-distant future, Harden will start to decline, and extending him to a sizable contract at this age would be far too risky.
Let's not forget Anthony Edwards is 24, and the goal should be building a sustainable contender around him. And (likely) having to give up Julius Randle in exchange for The Beard would make this trade an outright disaster.
If you are trading Randle, you'd better make sure that you are finding a clear upgrade over him. Sure, Harden is probably better than Randle right now, but he won't be for long. Now, if Darius Garland is on the table, I would consider trading Randle. Even then, it wouldn't be a forgone conclusion for me, and I doubt the Cavs would do this.
The Wolves are looking for a piece (or multiple) to get over the championship hump. Giannis Antetokounmpo is the prized possession for the Wolves ahead of Thursday's deadline. However, it's fair to expect the Wolves to pursue some backcourt upgrades if they strike out on Giannis. What level of player this upgrade will be remains unclear, but fans can rest assured that it won't be Harden.