34 Year Old NBA Veteran Forced to Stay in Hopes of Trading Back James Harden, As Per Reports

With the trade deadline less than a month away, NBA teams are resorting to all kinds of tactics to come up with suitable trade options to acquire the ‘right’ players. While the Los Angeles Lakers have seemingly made it clear that they won’t be giving up their future first-round picks in order to strengthen their current roster, the Houston Rockets seem to be focused on doing just about everything required to acquire Philadelphia 76ers‘ James Harden, according to reports. Recently, an NBA Insider detailed an interesting development that reflected such intentions from H-town.

The Houston Rockets are having one of their worst seasons in franchise history with only 10 wins out of the 45 games played. They currently sit at the bottom of the Western Conference rankings. However, while it is too late for them to turn the tables this late in the season, they will need nothing short of a blockbuster trade to make sure the 2024 season goes smoothly.

Rockets’ plan to acquire Sixers’ James Harden involves a 34-year-old veteran, per sources

NBA superstar James Harden will become a free agent in July 2023. Therefore, the Houston Rockets are seemingly making sure that ‘The Beard’ finds his way back home. According to Tim MacMahon of ESPN, the Rockets might trade their star guard Eric Gordon by the February 9 deadline but will acquire him back during the 2023 offseason. This seems like a possibility because, in an episode of Howdy Partners, MacMahon shared that Harden liked playing alongside Gordon during his stint with Houston.

“Some people I?ve talked to in Houston say there?s an understanding that James Harden really enjoys playing with Eric Gordon,” MacMahon said in the podcast episode. The trade is a good opportunity for Gordon to play for a contending team, but it seems unlikely if the Rockets want to convince Harden to sign with them.

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As per reports, Harden is already considering returning back to the Rockets. Therefore, having his preferable teammate in his former team might just influence his decision.

Harden might become a Rockets player again

It is quite possible that 10x NBA All-Star James Harden might don the Houston Rockets jersey again after two seasons. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Harden has been mulling over the prospect of rejoining his former team in free agency. Harden and Joel Embiid have helped the Philadelphia 76ers become one of the top contending teams in the Eastern Conference this season. However, the former might not continue the partnership for too long.

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The Sixers recently won their fourth consecutive game thanks to the splendid on-court compatibility between Embiid and Harden. However, reports are yet to confirm if the partnership will last longer.