Getty LeBron James with James Harden.
The NBA offseason is officially here and rumors are starting to heat up. The Los Angeles Lakers are a team that is frequently involved in rumors and that hasn’t been any different this offseason. One name that hasn’t been mentioned much as a possible target for the team is Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden.
The 10-time All-Star has a player option on his contract, but according to a May 17 report from Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes, Harden intends to decline the option and hit free agency. If that report comes to fruition, he’ll be free to sign with whatever team he wants. Former NBA big man and LeBron James teammate on the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2015 Kendrick Perkins is predicting Harden to sign with the Lakers this offseason.
“Harden to the Lakers makes all the sense in the world,” Perkins said on the June 14 episode of ESPN’s “NBA Today.” “He has shown that he’s able to transition to the PG position, we saw how well him and Embiid worked in the pick-and-roll. Imagine him and Anthony Davis in the pick-and-roll. Imagine him taking pressure off of LeBron James as far as being the ball handler. I think it would be a match made in heaven.”
James Harden is a Los Angeles Native
Harden coming to the Lakers hasn’t been talked about as much throughout his career despite the fact that he is from Bellflower, California, which is a city located in southeast Los Angeles. The 2018 MVP coming to the Lakers would be a homecoming.
Unlike fellow Los Angeles natives in the NBA like Russell Westbrook and Demar DeRozan, Harden has never expressed interest in returning home to play for the Lakers in the media. In fact, he has shown more interest in returning to Houston. Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reported on May 19 that the Rockets and Harden have a “mutual” interest in reuniting. The 33-year-old guard spent nine seasons in Houston from 2012 to 2020 and it’s where he won his MVP. He also won three NBA scoring titles while he was with the Rockets. Returning to the team where he became a superstar could be more appealing to him than returning him.
Los Angeles Lakers Were Named ‘Surprise’ Landing Spot for James Harden
While Harden to the Lakers hasn’t been talked about much, Perkins isn’t the first to bring it up as an idea. Back in a May 24 column for Bleacher Report, Greg Swartz listed the Lakers as a “surprise” landing spot for the veteran guard.
“What about a team that just reached the conference finals, has an opening at point guard and the possibility to carve out roughly $30 million in cap space?” Swartz wrote.
“The Lakers actually make a lot of sense for Harden, especially if Kyrie Irving re-signs with the Dallas Mavericks and L.A. has already seen enough out of D’Angelo Russell.”
In order to afford Harden, the Lakers would likely need to move on from Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, Malik Beasley and Mo Bamba. The team would have a difficult time finding depth on the roster but a trio of Harden, LeBron James and Anthony Davis would be one of the most exciting in the NBA.
