No. 2 – Phoenix Suns
While everyone knows that the Houston Rockets are the team that has been linked to Harden the most recently, they are not alone. Per Sirius XM/NBA TV’s Brian Geltzeiler, the Phoenix Suns are a team on Harden’s radar leading up to free agency. The Suns, who went through some significant changes last season, would undoubtedly be an interesting landing spot for the former MVP guard.
First off, the Suns need an upgrade at point guard this off-season. It seems likely that the team will explore trading away Chris Paul for a younger piece. Adding Harden in place of Paul would be a major win for the Suns, forming a juggernaut of an offensive trio alongside both Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. Harden’s ability to orchestrate the offense would take significant pressure off of Booker and Durant, the latter of which he already has established chemistry with from prior stints in OKC and Brooklyn years back.
Again, it would not be cheap for the Suns to add Harden, and they’d certainly have to sacrifice a big chunk of their depth like they did this past season to have those three in town. Yet, if new owner Mat Ishbia is not afraid to spend big and wants to go all-in on stars, bringing in Harden could be his best bet. Time will tell on that front, but there’s no denying that dropping Harden onto a team that already has Booker and Durant would create one of the most dynamic offenses ever.