The Miami Heat is no longer involved in James Harden sweepstakes, according to a source
The Miami Heat is no longer involved in the James Harden sweepstakes.
On the eve of the 2020-21 NBA season, the Heat is no longer actively pursuing a trade with the Houston Rockets for their superstar, a league source with direct knowledge of the situation told the Miami Herald.
The Heat has been on Harden’s list of preferred trade destinations since earlier this month, The Athletic reported Dec. 10. Harden has asked the Rockets to trade him and the All-Star is reportedly hoping to land with the Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks or Miami.
The Heat checked in with Houston and there were preliminary discussions between the two teams on a possible trade, but talks did not advance.
Just days prior to the start of the 2018-19 NBA season, Miami also ended trade discussions with the Minnesota Timberwolves regarding a move for Jimmy Butler. The 76ers ultimately traded for Butler before the forward found his way to Miami in the summer of 2019.
The Heat, like most teams, prefer to start the season without trade rumors hanging over the locker room. Miami opens the regular season Wednesday against the Magic in Orlando, and Butler insists the trade rumors have not been a distraction.
“Zero,” the All-Star said. “We’re in here working. We don’t listen to the outside noise. You can’t help but to hear about it, somebody else is asking you about it. You can’t control any of that. We’re locked in on us. We control what we can control and we leave all of that other stuff up to everybody else.”
The Rockets, understandably, have a steep asking price for Harden, who won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award in 2018 and has been an All-NBA selection seven times. Houston’s “steep asking price of young players and draft picks hasn’t moved any of their discussions into an advanced stage,” ESPN reported Thursday.
Miami has a wealth of young talent — guards Kendrick Nunn, Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson all thrived as rookies or second-year players last season — but, at least for now, trade conversations have stalled between the two playoff teams.
NBA won’t jump line for vaccine
It’s a fair question, Adam Silver notes: Why is the NBA, given the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, beginning its season now?
“We’re comfortable with the health and safety protocols that we’ve designed in consultation, with the players association and our medical experts, plus we would not be opening the season if we didn’t believe it was safe and responsible to do so,” the commissioner said. “There are other factors, as well. Tens of thousands of people rely on our league and its related businesses for their livelihood. We also feel a responsibility to our fans. People continue to look at sports as a break from the challenges of the pandemic and as a small reminder of what life was like before COVID-19.”
On the eve of the new season, Silver continued to reiterate key points regarding the league and how it will handle the ongoing coronvirus pandemic this year. The NBA is adamant on not going back to a campus environment — like the 2020 NBA Bubble — although it is possible something similar could happen for the NBA G League. The league is facing up to a 40-percent decrease in revenue if fans aren’t allowed to attend games and vaccine distribution will be critical in determining what the latter part of the season, and the 2021 NBA playoffs, could look like.
Once again, Silver affirmed the NBA would not “jump the line” to acquire vaccines.
“It goes without saying that in no form or way will we jump the line. We’ll wait our turn to get the vaccine, so when that comes is uncertain,” Silver said. “It’s my hope that when we are eligible that members of the NBA community will want to get vaccinated and it’s our plan to be involved with governmental efforts in terms of public messaging as to the benefits of taking the vaccine. ... My sense is there’s a large group out there I would put in the category of undecided about the vaccine. There’s one cohort, I understand, who strongly are anti-vaccine and I think there will be opportunities to break through that, but I think there’s a much larger group of people who are just sort of taking a wait-and-see attitude.”
This story was originally published December 21, 2020 at 4:21 PM.
