NBA Rumors: 5 best trade destinations for James Harden to win championship

No. 4 James Harden trade destination: New Orleans Pelicans

Another outside-the-box option, but one that should excite James Harden a fair amount. Off the court, he’s in New Orleans — how fun! On the court, he gets to potentially share the floor with Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson. Health has been a big hurdle for the Pelicans, and Harden comes with his own share of injury concerns. But when healthy, on paper, New Orleans with Harden would be a very real threat in the West.

It can be hard to justify hitching your wagon to Zion at this point, but the talent is so overwhelming to the point of making it unavoidable. He has only spent one season relatively healthy since joining the league in 2019, but Williamson is the most dominant interior scorer on the planet. He’s automatic in the paint, possessing a blend of strength, speed, maneuverability, and touch that we’ve frankly never seen before.

Williamson has been an effective hub of New Orleans’ offense in recent years, but getting him off the ball and running downhill out of two-man actions with Harden would play very well. Harden isn’t the same nuclear scorer who once won MVP in Houston, but he’s a tremendous orchestrator. His I.Q. and table-setting acumen would elevate the Pelicans’ already-dynamic offense to another level.

The Pelicans have an overabundance of future picks to spend on players like Harden, and they can afford the risk because of that overabundance. A package around CJ McCollum, another young player, and multiple picks could be the best package that comes across Daryl Morey’s desk. Harden helming the offense with Ingram and Zion attacking seams in the defense — not to mention breakout candidate Trey Murphy, who would thrive off of Harden — makes New Orleans quite the title threat if healthy.