NBA Analyst Stephen Smith believes Miami Heat will be the right destination for the disgruntled James Harden

 

James Harden requested a trade back in June but the Philadelphia 76ers haven’t had any decent offers for the NBA superstar. However, he has continued to show his discontentment as he didn’t arrive on the media day and the first day of training camp.

Harden finally arrived at the training camp on Wednesday but he still wants to move out of Philadelphia. Only a few teams have shown interest in Harden but none are interested in meeting the demands of the Sixers. So the drama surrounding Harden is all set to continue.

ESPN analyst Stephen Smith feels that the Miami Heat should move for Harden after they missed the much-awaited arrival of Damian Lillard, who joined the Milwaukee Bucks in a shocking development.

During Wednesday’s ‘First Take’ episode, Smith shared that he believes no team should pursue Harden. Later he also added that Harden’s appropriate move would be joining the Miami Heat as they need some firepower after they made space for Lillard’s arrival earlier this year.

He pointed out how he is a big-time performer and would surely help Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro to make more shots, playing in their system.

“Well, first of all, respectfully, no one should pursue him,” Smith said.

“There are certain landing spots — I would love to see him in Miami because I think they need someone with his skill set. He led the league in assists last year. We talk about James Harden like he’s not still an All-Star-caliber player. He’s not the three-time scoring champion that he once was. But he is a big-time player. He’s an All-Star, and he would definitely help them because of his ability to make shots and to play in that system,” the analyst added.

Stephen Smith also feels that the Miami Heat is a respectable organization where Harden’s shenanigans won’t be tolerated. So it will help the organization as well to keep him in check. “I actually think he needs Miami,” Smith said.

“He really, really does. That level of structure with an organization that he respects, that you can’t get away with some of the shenanigans that he’s engaged in. And I say that respectfully because I am a fan of James Harden as a person and a player,” Smith shared.

Harden averaged 21.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 10.7 assists, 1.2 steals and 2.8 3-pointers per game on 44.1% shooting over 58 games last season. Considering the options available in the market and having missed Lillard earlier this week, the Heat may actually sign Harden. However there are plenty of factors involved before they actually pursue the Beard as he has had disciplinary issues.