Boston Celtics: 2 trades to get James Harden on either the Bucks or Heat

Trade idea No. 2) Harden teams with Giannis; Rockets get an All-Star

Why the Boston Celtics do it

Similar to the last trade idea, we see P.J. Tucker coming aboard the C’s roster while seeing the likes of Daniel Theis and Carsen Edwards being shipped off. However, while Theis goes to Houston still, Edwards is seen going to Milwaukee, and Boston winds up getting back both Danuel House (HOU) and D.J. Wilson (MIL) as well.

In regard to House coming to the Celtics, this is not the first time the idea has been brought up by us here at HH. In fact, just recently my co-expert Andrew Hughes recently discussed how the team should consider bringing on the scoring guard this offseason:

"If he decides to skip H-Town, however, it is in the best interest of the Cs to see if they can get in on House. House money ($3.7 million) is what you want to have on your roster given the two-way nature of his game and 3-point sniping abilities he possesses (41 percent shooting on just under five attempts per game in 2018-19)."

As for the inclusion of Wilson, the Boston Celtics would be taking a low-risk gamble on the final year remaining of the former 17th overall pick from 2017. Though the power forward has underwhelmed relative to his draft status, he has still proven capable of spacing the floor at a reletively consistent rate (32 percent for his career, 36 percent in 2018-19) and boasts per-36 minute averages of 13.2 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 2.5 assists from 2019-20.

Why the Milwaukee Bucks do it

To form a big three with Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and newly acquired guard Jrue Holiday.

Duh.

But, in all seriousness, the Milwaukee Bucks are desperate to keep their franchise cornerstone satisfied as they head into the final year of his contract. A team like the Bucks are not one to land many top-billed free agents, so they seriously want to do everything in their power to keep the reigning league MVP in tow for years to come.

A way to do this is to make up for their botched Bogdan Bogdanović deal by making it seem like it was all worth it, as they land Harden.

While the two stars had that public “feud”, should both parties want to win a championship I’m sure they’d quickly find a way to get past this and straighten things out.

Milwaukee would easily create the best big-3 in the entire league, making the Larry O’Brien trophy theirs to lose come season’s end.

Why the Houston Rockets do it

Similar to the last reasoning we gave in the previous slide, they are void of picks moving forward, which makes tanking a non-option.

Luckily with Wall, Cousins, and Woods in tow, they still could be a very respectable team this upcoming season, so adding the right pieced around them should Harden force his way out will be vital.

Though nowhere near the level of “The Beard”, Khris Middleton is a multi-time All-Star who is coming off of his best season in the league, where he posted sensational averages of 20.9 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and just shy of a steal per game on 50 percent shooting from the floor and 42 percent shooting from deep.

His playstyle would mesh quite well with the ball-dominant/ drive-and-kick happy Wall, who is looking to prove he’s still a star in this league, and it could make for a nice dynamic-duo to contend for the postseason out West.