New Season, New Year: Big Things Lie Ahead for the Toronto Raptors

All-Star game – Lowry and Harden (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)

James Harden

An elite NBA superstar is available on the trade market, but with a reportedly high demand on return and a litany of red flags attached. If this sounds familiar, it should: these were the circumstances surrounding the Kawhi Leonard trade back in the summer of 2018. And yes, we know how that turned out.

This time, the risks are different. Harden’s health is fine, but questions abound regarding his character and effect on team culture, not to mention his ability to perform in the playoffs. If the Toronto Raptors were to go down this path, they’d not only risk the Beard’s effect on the harmonious chemistry of the current core but would also have to sacrifice a significant chunk of it; whether that’s Siakam or Anunoby as part of a bigger package.

Unlike with Leonard, you know what you’re getting on the court with Harden. He’d probably instantly become the third-best player in the Conference, behind Antetokounmpo and Kevin Durant. Fit is a question on a team that already has VanVleet and Kyle Lowry in the backcourt, but positional fluidity has never been more pronounced in the league – I mean, DeMar DeRozan has been starting at the four in San Antonio.

The culture fit is the greater concern here. For all of Harden’s talent, it’s hard to watch him sabotage his way out of Houston without questioning whether another team can win with him. Still, the infrastructure is in place to mitigate at least some of those concerns. Depending on acquisition cost, the risk of adding Harden may not be any greater than it was with Leonard, especially given the direction Toronto appears to be going in the East right now (hint: it’s not up).