1 pick when he is on the court, but that doesn’t happen often enough. It’s the paradox of Zion - he is an All-NBA level player who looks like a No. Last season he played in just 29 games for the Pelicans but they outscored opponents by 7.2 points per 100 possessions when he was on the court. Yet when he plays, he’s a force of nature averaging 25.8 points on 60.5% shooting with seven rebounds a game. Zion Williamson has played in 114 games in his four NBA seasons, or 37% of the Pelicans’ games in those years. To put it politely.Īnd Harden probably wants to go home to Houston anyway. No doubt the Suns, with aggressive new owner Mat Ishbia, want to make another bold move or two this summer, but pulling off a James Harden deal would be challenging. Or, can Phoenix pick up Chris Paul‘s $30.8 million for this season and do a Harden for CP3 swap? Good luck selling that. That means getting a third team involved, one that wants Ayton, and will send players back to the 76ers they want. They would have no depth.Īlso, who are the Suns sending back to Philadelphia in that deal? The 76ers have no interest in Deandre Ayton, Philly is pretty set at center with the MVP. With Harden, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker on the books, a hard-capped Suns team would have to round out the roster with minimum contract guys. The only way the Suns could make a direct trade work is to convince Harden to do an opt-in and trade, where he picks up that $35.6 million and the Suns extend him off that, because if he opts out - as expected - then any sign-and-trade hardcaps the Suns. Phoenix is a crazy longshot because the Suns don’t have the cap space to sign Harden outright at market value. The smart money should still be bet on Houston. Everybody thinks it’s Philly or Houston, but I don’t know, there have been discussions in the wind.”
I don’t want to report anything, but that was in the wind for the past month or so. “I want you to keep your eye on James Harden.
There had been talk the Suns might make another big swing this offseason, then came this from ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne appearing on ESPNLA Radio ( hat tip Hoopshype): Maybe Phoenix can enter the conversation. Harden is reportedly “torn” between returning to Philadelphia or going back home to Houston (the sources NBC Sports talks to around the league have Houston as the frontrunner). James Harden is widely expected to opt out of the $35.6 million he is owed for next season because, even if you acknowledge he is not MVP-level Harden anymore, he’s worth more than that in the NBA marketplace.
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