NBA News Roundup, Sunday, June 2nd: Lakers among contenders to sign James Harden, top draft prospect to undergo surgery and more

By Tristan Elliott

Modified Nov 08, 2022 11:44 GMT

James Harden is being linked with a move away from the Houston Rockets

Lakers among teams that could complete a deal for James Harden

James Harden averaged 36.1 points during the 18/19 season

The Houston Rockets were eliminated from the playoffs by the Golden State Warriors for the fourth time in five years, and ESPN is reporting that the Rockets will now listen to offers for their entire roster.

Experts are split as to whether the Rockets will actually trade James Harden, although Metro Bet is reporting that the Lakers are among the teams that have the trade pieces to complete a deal:

Trading Harden would give the Rockets unbelievable cap relief for sure. But these four quarters for a dime trades rarely work out for the team receiving the silver George Washingtons. Morey would need to be overwhelmed by a deal.

As for which teams could actually pull off a Harden deal, it's the usual suspects: the Celtics, the Lakers, the Knicks, the Sixers and Bulls. All of those teams have tradeable assets that the Rockets would covet under a massive rebuild.

During the 18-19 season, Harden averaged 36.1 points, 7.5 assists and 6.6 rebounds per game.