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Any chance Detroit Pistons get James Harden?

By Stuart London

HOUSTON, TX - DECEMBER 14: James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets handles the ball against the Detroit Pistons on December 14, 2019 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Cato Cataldo/NBAE via Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TX - DECEMBER 14: James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets handles the ball against the Detroit Pistons on December 14, 2019 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Cato Cataldo/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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One of the top players in the NBA might now be available in James Harden. Would the Detroit Pistons be able to land him?

The Detroit Pistons have not been mentioned as one of the teams in the hunt for James Harden. At the moment, that might be true, as he has made it clear he wants to be traded to a contender.

Coming off a 20-46  record, and having gone through an almost complete overhaul of its roster, the Pistons might be thought of outsiders as far as contending for the NBA championship.

However, as the days, and possibly weeks, go by with no resolution between Harden and the Houston Rockets, teams thought to have no shot might, all of a sudden, have a shot.

When all of this started several weeks ago, Harden reportedly wanted to be traded only to the Brooklyn Nets, where he could join Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant for a superteam. When that did not occur, he said the Philadelphia 76ers, now run by former Rockets general manager Daryl Morey, would also be an acceptable place.

Apparently, that is not happening either, so Harden has further expanded his list of teams.

The main beef Harden has with the Rockets is that he does not believe they are a contender for the NBA championship anymore.

He is 31-years-old and the clock is ticking on him earning a ring. Harden has only been to the finals once in his career, and that was back in 2012, when he came off the bench for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The fact that Houston now has new and unproven people in the front office (Rafael Stone for Morey) and coaching (Stephen Silas for Mike D’Antoni) does not help give Harden a warm,fuzzy feeling  they can build a title team.

It is not like Houston has not tried to get Harden a championship. They have brought in Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook and now John Wall to pair with him for a superstar 1-2 punch. The Warriors dynasty, some bad luck (Paul injured up 3-1 on Golden State) and a 3-for-28 team from 3 performance in a crucial game have stopped a parade in Houston so far.

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While Harden is looking to hop on a team already seen as a contender, it is not like the Rockets are a steaming pile of you-know-what. They traded a disgruntled Westbrook for Wall, one of the top point guards in the NBA before injuries sidelined him two years ago, plus signed free agent center, Christian Wood, away from the Pistons. They also still have Eric Gordon and other good players.

But Harden, apparently, thinks the grass is greener on another team.

The problem with wanting to go exclusively to a contender is that, undoubtedly, they already have a couple of star players that are well-paid. They do not want to get rid of their own stars and have limited space in the salary cap to add players.

Houston is not simply going to give Harden away for a couple of second-rounders and a pick swap. They are going to want something substantial in return, like a star player and some first-round draft choices.

Of course, if a contender trades one of its stars to Houston, that kind of defeats the purpose.

Harden wants to go to a place to win a title, but one of the players he wants to play with, will now probably be in Houston.

Being traded to, say, the Nets, does Harden no good if, in return, the Nets have to send Kyrie Irving to Houston. Or, if the 76ers sent the Rockets like Ben Simmons, suddenly the team Harden wanted to play for, is no longer there.

So a standoff appears likely. Harden is under contract to the Rockets for two more years (at a total of $83 million) so they could try a waiting game, and hope he decides to stick it out there.

This is where the Pistons could possibly step in. As the weeks go by, the situation might become so untenable that Houston will need to trade Harden for the best offer they can get. Houston is under no obligation to send Harden to the team of his choice.

Detroit general manager Troy Weaver has said he wants to be a aggressive. Getting James Harden would certainly be that. Certainly speed up the rebuild.

There are two ways Harden could be playing for Detroit. One is fairly easy and direct, the other takes a bit more creativity, but could make the Pistons an immediate contender.

Here is a look at both possibilities Detroit could have James Harden: