NBA Rumors: James Harden Had 'Serious Interest' in Suns Before Bradley Beal Trade

Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden reportedly had his eyes on a move to the Phoenix Suns prior to their acquisition of Bradley Beal from the Washington Wizards.

According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, Harden had "serious interest" in getting traded to the Suns for multiple reasons, including the fact that he attended Arizona State University, owns a house in Phoenix and considers it his "third home of sorts."

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported Thursday that Harden planned to opt into the final year of his contract and work with the 76ers to find a trade destination.

The 33-year-old Harden has been on the move often in recent years, as he could be trending toward playing for his fourth different team in the past four seasons.

Harden enjoyed an incredibly successful nine-year run with the Houston Rockets, yielding nine All-Star selections, three scoring titles and one NBA MVP award, before requesting a trade and getting dealt to the Brooklyn Nets during the 2020-21 season.

He appeared in just 80 regular-season games with the Nets over two seasons and was traded again during the 2021-22 campaign, this time to Philly.

The Sixers hoped Harden could join the core of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris, and put the team over the top, but they suffered back-to-back second-round exits in the playoffs, which has become a common theme over the past six years.

Last season, Harden was not selected to the All-Star Game for the first time since the 2011-12 season, which was his final one with the Oklahoma City Thunder before getting traded to Houston.

Even so, the likely future Hall of Famer put up strong numbers, leading the NBA with 10.7 assists per game, and also averaging 21.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.8 three-pointers made and 1.2 steals.

Philadelphia seemed like a good fit for Harden since he could complement Embiid's work on the interior and was also reunited with president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, who traded for him when he was the Rockets' general manager.

Despite that, Harden could be on the move again, although it seems unlikely that Phoenix is a potential landing spot.

Amick reported that Kevin Durant was in favor of playing with Harden again after previously being his teammate in Brooklyn, but that was before the Beal trade.

Since Beal had a sizable contract and a no-trade clause, the price to acquire the three-time All-Star wasn't as big as expected. Phoenix only had to part with guards Chris Paul and Landry Shamet, along with six second-round picks and several first-round pick swaps.

After reaching the NBA Finals three seasons ago, posting the best record in the NBA two seasons ago and trading for Durant last season, the Suns are poised to be one of the teams to beat in the NBA next season with a core of KD, Beal, Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton.

As for Harden, it is unclear if he will be able to land with a franchise that gives him a better chance to win a championship than the Sixers do, but his pursuit of the only major accomplishment he has yet to achieve will likely loom large in trade talks.