James Harden Reportedly Believes He Can't Compete for NBA Title with Rockets

Houston Rockets guard James Harden, who has reportedly requested a trade, does not believe he can compete for a NBA title with the franchise he has played for since 2012. 

Shams Charania of The Athletic discussed Harden's reported beliefs on Thursday:

"An eight-time All-Star in his 11 NBA seasons, Harden has become one of the league's elite players during his eight years in Houston where he has been the face of the franchise. He has told the Rockets that he wants to be traded to compete for a title elsewhere, and has been resigned to the belief that he can no longer compete for a championship in Houston, sources say. Even still, Houston has made it clear they want to continue competing with Harden, who has two guaranteed seasons remaining on his contract (with a player option in 2022)."

Houston has made numerous offseason moves, including the hiring of new general manager Rafael Stone and head coach Stephen Silas, trading Russell Westbrook for John Wall and adding free agent big men Christian Wood and DeMarcus Cousins.

Reports of Harden's concerns in Houston have gone public recently.

Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Brian Windhorst on Nov. 11, Harden and Westbrook "expressed concern about the direction of the franchise through direct conversations or discussions with their representatives and the Rockets' front office."

It was reported on Nov. 16 that Harden wanted to be dealt to a contender hit, per Charania, who has since reported that Harden has four teams on a list of preferred destinations: the Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat.

Harden has amassed a long list of individual accomplishments during his illustrious career thanks in part to eight All-Star Game appearances, seven All-NBA Team nods and the 2017-18 NBA MVP. He's also won the scoring title three years running, averaging 33.7 points per game since 2017-18.

Harden's Rockets have also fared well since 2012, when Houston acquired him from the Oklahoma City Thunder in a trade. They've gone .500 or better in eight straight years, making the playoffs each time. 

However, an NBA Finals appearance has eluded Harden during that stretch. His team made the Western Conference Finals in 2015 and 2018 but lost to the Golden State Warriors each time.

The Rockets made a seismic change in 2019 in hopes of changing their fortunes, bringing in nine-time All-Star and 2016-17 NBA MVP Russell Westbrook in from the Thunder and dealing 10-time All-Star Chris Paul to OKC.

The Harden-Westbrook Rockets went a respectable 44-28 during the regular season and beat the Thunder in the first round, but they fell to the Los Angeles Lakers in five games in the Western Conference semifinals. Their four losses were by an average of 12.75 points.

More changes occurred this offseason after president of basketball operations Daryl Morey and head coach Mike D'Antoni each left the team.

For now, Harden is still a Rocket with the 2020-21 NBA season's kickoff looming on Dec. 22.