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

Atlanta Hawks pro No. 1) James Harden is an elite scorer

As mentioned in the opening slide, James Harden is one of the elite scorers in the league. He has made a living out of shooting the 3-ball, including his almost unguardable step-back. He has also been really effective at driving to the rim and getting to the free-throw line.

The Rockets have built their system around Harden’s abilities on the offensive end. They even tried to go super small-ball at the trade deadline last season when the Rockets traded the injured Clint Capela to the Hawks. Considering they were bounced out of the playoffs in the second round by the Los Angeles Lakers, it is safe to say that experiment failed.

Atlanta Hawks pro No. 2 ) James Harden is an elite passer

Also as mentioned on the previous slide, Harden has led the league in assists once already in his career. He has also not averaged under 7.0 assists per game in the past seven seasons, including this one.

The main reason for this is that the Rockets surrounded their star with shooters and basically gave him the keys to the franchise. His play could go a long way to unlocking some of the talents of the young Hawks core.

Atlanta Hawks pro No. 3 ) James Harden has played with Clint Capela

The swiss pivot started his career with the Rockets. He had a tremendous pick and roll game with Harden that was almost impossible. Capela also knows Harden’s defensive tendencies and is able to compensate for them.