Shams: Harden has added bucks and heat to “preferred destinations”

He played in system that benefited his skill set. That's it.

 

That trade is garbage. If Miami won’t move Bam or can’t find a way to get another good young player to package with Herro, they aren’t getting Harden.

 

Can you guys imagine Jimmy Butler and James Harden playing together? Harden might cry on a daily basis from being called soft, lazy, etc.

 

Ben Simmons isn’t perfect, but he’s a 24-year-old with elite playmaking and defensive abilities. He would be a great centerpiece for a Harden trade.

 

First rule of negotiations always start at the lowest point then gradually build up your offer. Bam will never be included but Herro after some haggling will be

 

Gonna need the Johns to save this relationship.

 

I wonder if there'll be a darkhorse team coming out of nowhere and make a big offer that no one saw coming, like the Pelicans, they could potentially trade Ingram, Alexander-Walker, Jaxon Hayes, Lonzo, multiple picks (they also have the Lakers picks)...afterall they just traded for Adams and added veterans like Redick, Bledsoe, and a Harden - Zion duo could bring huge hype and would instantly make them a playoff team.

Adams
Zion
Tucker
Harden
Bledsoe

 

I understand negotiating tactics, but the Heat not offering Herro in a trade for James Harden immediately is the equivalent of someone offering trash for your elite player in a fantasy league. You can do it, but good luck getting me to consider trading with you.

 

I disagree. You're trading for a "centerpiece" that can shoot, and is due roughly $178m. If the rockets make that trade it puts them in horrible situation with no cap space or picks (of our own) for years. I see no chance of this team making the playoffs with Ben Simmons as our new #1. In my mind any of these teams that Harden is supposedly interested in need to bring in a 3rd team to even have trade discussions.

 

That team has the potential to be a top 3 team in the west

 

I mean I thought John Wall and Harden wanted to play together...... seems like he went ghost after that comment

 

The heats goal is to have Herro as the center piece and final offer.Trade negotiations is not about considering the other sides feelings it’s about getting a deal done. It’s a business transaction

 

We wanted that here. If he goes to Miami it's going to be interesting. I can't imagine Butler enjoying playing with Harden

This I like. Pelicans have so many assets that it makes sense for them. Giving up say Lonzo and Ingraham for Harden doesn't hurt them and the Rockets get one really great young player in Ingraham that would fit right in and those other guys are solid players you can use. We'd instantly be a deep team.

Pelicans would instantly be a playoff team. The only thing is can they get Harden to commit? It's a big risk for them because he can bolt on them and leave them with nothing and having to rebuild around Zion again who might be impatient at that point in time.

 

It sucks that Simmons can’t shoot, but when you have his playmaking ability and defensive skills, he’s still an extremely positive asset and a player you can build an offense around. He’s essentially a young, 6’10 Draymond Green. You can build a team to win around that if you use him properly.

 

Sounds like the Rockets should be putting John Lucas to take questions from the media as well or for the very least @The Cat needs to ask Stephen Silas if he has talked to John Lucas regarding James and what is James conveying to John, etc.

 

TL;DR: “So the best possible Heat offer would be Herro; Robinson or Nunn (whichever Houston prefers, with Robinson viewed as the more attractive trade asset at this point); Achiuwa; first-round picks in 2025 and 2027 (if OKC unlocks the 2023 pick) and Olynyk and Iguodala as cap facilitators.”

https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/barry-jackson/article247474900.html

A few things to keep in mind on any potential deal involving the Heat:

▪ Because the Heat is over the salary cap and has used its full $9.3 million midlevel exception, Miami cannot exceed the $138.9 million tax apron this season. So Miami is essentially operating under a hard cap.

Even beyond that, the fact that Miami is over the cap means the Heat needs to send out salary not far below the $41.2 million that Harden is due this season.

Miami, whose payroll stands at $124.4 million, can take back 125 percent of salaries it sends out, plus $100,000.

But if Miami trades, say, five players for Harden, the Heat would need to fill out the last few roster spots with minimum contracts — and a $3.6 million bi-annual exception — while staying under the tax apron.

▪ To facilitate a trade from a cap standpoint, Miami assuredly would need to include Andre Iguodala ($15 million) and Kelly Olynyk ($12.6 million).

Goran Dragic, Meyers Leonard and Udonis Haslem not only have the right to veto a trade this season, but they couldn’t be traded until Feb. 6 anyway, per ESPN front office insider Bobby Marks’ report on NBA rules on the timetable of trades for players who signed as free agents in recent weeks.

Avery Bradley and Maurice Harkless also cannot be traded until Feb. 6, per NBA rules on the timetable of trades for players who signed as free agents.

Miami obviously isn’t trading Jimmy Butler or Bam Adebayo.

So that leaves Iguodala and Olynyk as the only big salaries that realistically can be used to facilitate a Heat trade for Harden.

▪ The bigger question is whether the Heat has enough assets that appeal to Houston.

Tyler Herro assuredly would need to be included. So would either Duncan Robinson or Kendrick Nunn — both of whom will be restricted free agents next summer.

Teams typically cannot trade rookie first-round picks until 30 days after signing. But Marks said that schedule has been condensed this season, meaning Heat rookie forward Precious Achiuwa can already be included in a trade.

Houston also covets draft picks, and that’s an area where the Heat is limited.

Miami cannot trade any future first-round picks unless it reaches an agreement with Oklahoma City to unlock protections on the 2023 Heat first-rounder that is due to OKC, which also owns Miami’s 2021 first-rounder.

That 2023 pick is lottery protected, meaning if Miami misses the playoffs in 2022-23, the Heat would keep its 2023 first-rounder and the pick wouldn’t be conveyed to OKC until 2024, at the earliest.

But if the Heat agrees to eliminate that protection — and promise to give OKC its 2023 first-rounder wherever it falls in the draft — and if OKC is agreeable (there’s no reason it wouldn’t be), Miami then could trade its 2025 and 2027 first-rounders to Houston.

Teams cannot trade first-round picks more than seven years out.

▪ So the best possible Heat offer would be Herro; Robinson or Nunn (whichever Houston prefers, with Robinson viewed as the more attractive trade asset at this point); Achiuwa; first-round picks in 2025 and 2027 (if OKC unlocks the 2023 pick) and Olynyk and Iguodala as cap facilitators. That would satisfy cap requirements.

Either KZ Okpala or Chris Silva — each earning $1.5 million — could be thrown in, but that wouldn’t be necessary from a cap standpoint in this hypothetical trade.

Another option would be including both Robinson and Nunn but not Achiuwa, but whether Houston would be agreeable to that is questionable.

It seems questionable that Houston would accept Robinson, Nunn and Achiuwa but no Herro.

▪ That “best possible” hypothetical Heat offer would leave Miami with a roster of Butler, Adebayo, Harden, Dragic, Leonard, Bradley, Harkless and either Robinson or Nunn — whichever player isn’t included in the hypothetical Harden package — plus Haslem, Okpala and Silva. That’s 10 players.

Miami could fill out a roster by signing one player to a $3.6 million bi-annual exception and four to minimum deals or sign five players to minimum deals.

According to the Athletic’s Charania, “the Rockets don’t have an urgency to move Harden and the franchise expects a mammoth package for the six-time All-NBA first team performer: along the lines of a young star and tremendous draft assets. He has told the Rockets that he wants to be traded to compete for a title elsewhere, and has been resigned to the belief that he can no longer compete for a championship in Houston, sources say. Even still, Houston has made it clear they want to continue competing with Harden… Sources said the Rockets have no interest in a Nets offer, unless it would include either Kevin Durant or Kyrie Irving.”

Harden must pass six COVID tests over six days before joining Houston’s training camp workouts later this week. Per Charania, “sources close to the team and Harden expect the former league MVP to remain professional” as he seeks a trade.

If the Heat acquired Harden, that would make Miami a highly unlikely destination for Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, a potential 2021 free agent that Miami has coveted. The Heat also is interested in a trade for Washington’s Bradley Beal if the Wizards make him available, though a Beal pursuit would be unlikely if Harden is acquired by Miami — unless Miami then flips one star shooting guard for the other.

 

Shutup

 

that trade reads to me as Herro + junk for James Harden

massive W for the Heat if Herro can get them a player of Harden’s caliber

 

Unfortunately they just signed Ingram to an extension and can’t trade him until March.