NBA Rumors: Latest Trade Buzz on James Harden and Michael Porter Jr.

The 2020-21 NBA season is officially underway, and James Harden is still a core member of the Houston Rockets.

But as the rumors of his frustration and potential exit from Houston persist, the latest indications are he's unlikely to leave Houston in the near future. Two teams with interest—the Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets—are out of the running.

Perhaps that may change in the future. For now, however, both franchises are no longer pursuing a deal.

Heat Ending Harden Talks

After reaching the NBA Finals in the Florida bubble, the Heat enter the 2020-21 season as the Eastern Conference team to beat. Miami explored the possibility of bolstering the roster with Harden, but those discussions are over.

Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel noted Miami is no longer engaging the Rockets about a Harden deal.

As expected, the asking price for Harden served as a deterrent. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald said the Heat had "strong interest" in Harden and very likely would re-engage in talks if Houston reduced what it would accept in return.

Miami is smart to understand what the Rockets wanted, but no serious trade possibility emerging isn't a surprise.

First, finding a reasonable trade will be difficult anyway. Miami surely wants to build around Bam Adebayo, while Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson are valuable and inexpensive.

Plus, the Heat are dealing with trade restrictions. Several players signed in the offseason—Meyers Leonard and Avery Bradley, for example—are not eligible to be traded until February. Piecing together a deal with Andre Iguodala and Kelly Olynyk is financially possible, but that's likely not of much interest to Houston.

At least until Feb. 5 when Miami's trade restrictions expire, this connection is a future topic to know.

Denver, Houston Far Apart

Although the Nuggets have patiently built a Western Conference threat, the chance to acquire a player of Harden's caliber doesn't come around often. Denver, like Miami, made a fine decision to investigate what the Rockets wanted in return.

And they had one particular player in mind.

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

"Houston's interest centered firmly on Nuggets small forward Michael Porter Jr.," Mike Singer of the Denver Post reported. "Those talks haven't materialized into anything substantial."

Porter is a very promising young player, but he isn't untouchable. The bigger concern is financial; engineering a Harden/Porter swap only works if Denver also agrees to send both Gary Harris and Will Barton to the Rockets.

That's a considerable price for someone who may disrupt the team's chemistry and playing style. Maybe it would be for the better, but the potential downside is clear, too.

According to Singer, point guard Jamal Murray was not available in these discussions. As long as that remains true—and it's seemingly the right choice—the Nuggets would need to sacrifice a fair amount of depth and star potential.

Yes, that's the price to acquire a superstar, but it doesn't mean Denver should be rushing to pay it.

Follow Bleacher Report writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR.