After cursory talks about a James Harden trade, the Miami Heat have moved on and will not go after the Houston Rockets star, sources told ESPN.
Miami is one of the teams that had the kind of pack of young prospects the Rockets claimed in their search for a deal for their disgruntled star. Miami has intriguing young players Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson and Kendrick Nunn, among others, plus some experienced players in the last years of their contracts who could have been used to facilitate trading.
However, the Rockets were also looking for significant concept assets in Harden’s deals, and the Heat can currently only offer their first round for 2027 in a single trade. For those reasons, the discussions never got far from the Rockets’ side, the sources said.
Houston has held trade talks with the Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers and Denver Nuggets surrounding Harden, among others, who requested a trade. Speaking to the media on Monday, Harden declined to answer a question about whether his feelings about the Rockets have changed.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel was the first to report the Heat’s decision to end trade talks.