Prior to Wednesday, James Harden had reasonable motives to continue his efforts in being moved from the Houston Rockets. In his eight seasons with the organization, they've yet to win a championship, let alone grace the NBA Finals despite having a former MVP and scoring champion on their roster.
To the Rockets' credit, they've spent the better part of Harden's career in Houston catering to his needs. Whether it be optimizing the lineups due to statistical suggestions or simply catering to Harden's preferences, the front office has made sure to go all-out in any pursuits of big-name players to secure a championship run.
Harden truly may have thought it was time to call it quits in Houston after failing once more last season with his close friend and former teammate Russell Westbrook. While the co-stars thought they were the best chance for making a championship appearance, the rest of the world saw the dysfunction from a mile away at the news of Westbrook heading to Houston.
Now, the Rockets have worked out a trade in favor of Harden after successfully shipping off Westbrook for five-time All-Star John Wall. Younger than Harden's last two backcourt mates, Wall could easily wind up becoming the best addition to the Rockets' roster in the Harden era.
The problem that existed with Chris Paul and James Harden was simply an Alpha male clash that wouldn't allow the two colliding egos to coexist. In the aftermath of the breakup, Paul still resulted in being the better co-star in comparison to Westbrook. The Rockets were able to achieve better statistical averages along with deep playoff runs with Paul.
With Westbrook, they made it out of a controversial first round bout against Paul and the Oklahoma City Thunder before falling to a gentleman's sweep against the Los Angeles Lakers. With Westbrook later coming out and stating his desire to run the offense as he did in Oklahoma, the validation was served on a silver platter that the acquisition of the former UCLA standout was a mistake.
While Wall doesn't possess all the freakishly athletic abilities as Westbrook, his efficiency far outranks that of Westbrook in most aspects on the court. His style of play is one that could better suit Harden, seeing as how Wall isn't always on the prowl for an unwise shot as Westbrook was.
Westbrook's unwavering confidence in his shot selection along with his style of play caused a multitude of problems. As such, it also caused the eventual trading of Clint Capela, which proved to be a horrible move in a small-ball lineup.
The question of Harden needing a co-star in Houston is without a doubt. Many would assume that the best route for him would be being surrounded by a legitimate supporting cast of high-caliber role players. Still, that only serves as a first or second-round exit in the playoffs at best. What he needed is a co-star that he could get along with and flourish on the floor with as well. He could find both of those qualities in Wall.
Harden is cut from the same cloth as Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, having immense, elite talents but requiring so much to see them on full display in an excellent manner. While Durant and Irving may have found the ideal partnership in Brooklyn, Harden is still on the search for such a player.
Now, with Wall as the next man up to take on that task, Harden should heavily reconsider the idea of wanting to leave the Rockets. The Houston front office has made good on their promise to constantly deliver talent to the Rockets in support of James Harden. Now, it's time for him to finally return to the favor.
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