The Houston Rockets traded James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets last week in a massive four-team deal.
Prior to the transaction occurring, the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat were rumored to be possible trade partners for Houston in a potential deal.
After the trade went down, Celtics team president Danny Ainge immediately responded to not landing Harden by coming out and citing the reason why he didn’t want him anyway. An ambassador of the Heat did something similar, albeit in a much more joking fashion.
This week, Udonis Haslem appeared on the Complex Sports Podcast and explained the main reason why he didn’t want Harden on his team.
“You can’t bring James Harden to Miami… I would’ve aged 15 years trying to be his OG.” 😂
Udonis Haslem kept it real on Harden coming to the Heat.
EPISODE w/ @ThisIsUD: https://t.co/n6yO8l8NbW pic.twitter.com/rfVcyKO8KH
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) January 19, 2021
“I knew we wasn’t gonna get him,” Haslem said. “You can’t bring James Harden to Miami. As much as I wanted that to work out, in my mind I was like, ain’t no way. I would’ve aged 15 years trying to be his O.G. He would’ve had to move me into the guesthouse to keep a close eye on him.”
It’s difficult to argue with that assessment. If Harden was finding maskless stripper parties to attend as a member of the Rockets, he definitely would’ve landed himself in some interesting types of predicaments in South Beach.
Back when Tiger didn’t know how to get women, MJ gave him a 6-word pick-up line that changed everything. https://t.co/OTz84sZ7vY
— Game 7 (@game7__) January 19, 2021
Still, given Miami’s slow start to the season, one can’t help but wonder what sort of boost Harden could’ve provided. After all, Bam Adebayo just came out and called out his teammates for not playing up to expectations, so clearly the team needs a bit of help.
So far Harden is averaging 33 points and 13 assists per game in two outings with the Nets. Will he ultimately make the Heat regret not acquiring him? Time will tell.
Related: Steve Nash Reveals Plan For Kyrie Irving, Nets
Jennifer Withers Hoey is a former Business Development Manager who transitioned to writing about sports. With valuable connections all over the West Coast, she has used those contacts to break some of the most interesting stories pertaining to the Portland Trail Blazers, Oregon Ducks, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Seattle Supersonics (RIP), and more.
