Heat Not Expected To Pursue James Harden Trade

The Miami Heat are not expected to pursue a James Harden trade, according to NBA insiders Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Harden has requested a trade from the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Heat didn’t acquire Damian Lillard despite the point guard requesting a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers to Miami. The Milwaukee Bucks traded for Lillard, who became open to the idea of playing for the Bucks after realizing Portland wasn’t going to send him to South Beach.

The Sixers agreed to search out a trade upon Harden’s request after the lefty picked up his $35.6 million player option for next season in June. However, Philadelphia’s asking price for Harden was steep and no teams were willing or able to meet it.

The Sixers believe they will be a title contender in 2023-24 with Harden’s return alongside Joel Embiid. The franchise is determined to find a way to make it work with Harden. However, according to NBA insider Joe Vardon of The Athletic, Harden will never play for the Sixers again and has no plans of taking part in training camp if he’s still on the team.

In 58 games for the Sixers last season, Harden averaged 21.0 points, 6.1 rebounds and 10.7 assists. He led the NBA in assists per game for the second time in his career.

Harden wants the Sixers to trade him to the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers and Sixers discussed the framework of a Harden trade, but the two sides never got close to a deal, according to NBA insider Noah Levick of NBC Sports Philadelphia.

The Heat, who lost to the Denver Nuggets in the 2023 NBA Finals, will try to acquire Jrue Holiday from the Blazers. However, several contenders are going to pursue Holiday, so the Heat may not get the All-NBA defender, especially since Holiday is in Portland and Miami didn’t have positive talks with the Blazers during Lillard trade discussions.