James Harden now interested in trade to Bucks or Heat

James Harden has two more Eastern Conference heavyweights on his preferred destinations list.

The Houston Rockets, just a few days removed from trading Russell Westbrook to the Washington Wizards in exchange for John Wall, might be close to trading their other future Hall of Famer in James Harden. While Harden has been angling for a trade to Kevin Durant’s Brooklyn Nets, he also listed the Philadelphia 76ers, now run by former Rockets GM Daryl Morey, as a satisfactory landing spot. Perhaps seeing how his late arrival to training camp ruffled some feathers, Harden is now eyeing two more Eastern contenders.

Per Shams Charania, Harden has now added the Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks to his list of teams he would accept a trade to.

James Harden sounds like he really wants out of Houston

Despite the fact that Harden has led the league in scoring in each of the last three seasons, all the while constantly leading Houston deep into the postseason, the firing of Mike D’Antoni and the chemistry problems that have permeated the Houston locker room appears to be some of the main reasons Harden wants out.

Per Heat insider Greg Sylvander, Miami has been unwilling to include standout second-year guard Tyler Herro in any Harden trade package. The Heat would be a great fit purely from a basketball standpoint, but they aren’t overflowing with trade assets at the moment. Milwaukee, fresh off trading several years worth of first-round picks for Jrue Holiday, might be in the same boat.

It’s becoming crystal clear with each passing day that Harden is looking for a way out of Houston. What could make this challenging, apart from the Rockets’ financial troubles, is the fact that all the teams he has listed either lack the cap space or assets needed to pull off a Harden deal. Things could get really awkward really fast in Houston.