James Harden Trade Rumors: Celtics, Raptors Crash Party For ‘The Beard’ Services

With the first four potential NBA teams showing no promise, two more clubs have been linked as potential landing spots for disgruntled star James Harden of the Houston Rockets. They are two certified playoff teams in the Eastern Conference, namely the Boston Celtics and the Toronto Raptors.

ESPN Houston Morning Show host John Granato claims that “impeccable” sources allege that the Celtics and the Raptors are now favorites to land the 2018 NBA MVP. And anchoring the trade for each team are Jaylen Brown and Pascal Siakam respectively.

The Celtics could gain immensely if they do succeed in netting Harden from the Rockets. Boston has been making the playoffs the past years but somehow come up short. Brown has been performing well though he has been playing behind Jayson Tatum mostly. If this materializes, it may raise the Celtics' chances. However, it remains questionable if this would be enough to push them to the NBA Finals at the least.

For the Raptors, giving up Siakam whom they considered a future cornerstone would be tough to envision. He is a promising cager but if Toronto wants to collar its second NBA title, they may have better chances with the eight-time All-Star.

For now, all this should be taken with a grain of salt. The 2020-21 NBA season is almost here and the only thing certain for now is that Harden will still have to suit up for the Rockets on opening day.

This is unless a deal is pulled in the next couple of hours. If that happens, Harden could end up not playing at all on NBA opening day if a deal gains ground.

"Right now, I'm just focused on being here,” he said to media recently. “Today was good, yesterday felt really good being out there the in the first time since the bubble.”

The Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks and the Brooklyn Nets have not gained any headway in James Harden trade talks. A lot of scenarios have been suggested, the last of which was with the Sixers and the Heat.

The key thing to note here is how Harden will fit in any of the six teams linked to him. Though a bonafide star, inserting him into any team will raise questions on the chemistry that will also tell on the team’s chances of winning the 2020-21 NBA crown.