Atlanta Hawks: The pros and cons of trading for James Harden

Should the Atlanta Hawks try and take advantage of the situation where James  Harden and the Houston Rockets are seemingly unable to reconcile.

The Atlanta Hawks may be on the lookout to try and get some advantage out of the apparently irreconcilable situation between the Houston Rockets and James Harden. The Rockets’ main man was less than impressed during press commitments after the Los Angeles Lakers game.

This situation has been brewing since before the season. It appears that Harden has had no respect for the team, given he was partying with friends when he was meant to be preparing for training camp.

However, when it came to playing the game of basketball, Harden has shown that he can step onto a court and produce at a high level. He is averaging 24.8 points, 10.4 assists, 5.1 rebounds, 0.9 steals, and 0.8 blocks in 36.3 minutes per game in eight contests this season.

Should the Atlanta Hawks be concerned about James Harden’s relative lack of production?

I say relative lack of production because Harden has led the league in scoring for the last three seasons. The former MVP has averaged more than 30.0 points a game in each of those seasons. Such is his versatility, Harden led the league in assists the season prior to his first scoring title.

So the question is why is the situation so bad in Houston. Harden asked for more help and in the following seasons the Rockets added Chris Paul, then Russell Westbrook, and now John Wall. The Rockets have never made it out of the West, even with this high-level talent who have come in and tried to help Harden.