James Harden Trade Rumors: Celtics, Blazers Among Star's Preferred Destinations

It appears James Harden's trade destination wish list is growing to the point where it may soon be "anywhere but Houston."

Sam Amick and Kelly Iko of The Athletic reported Harden recently added the Boston Celtics and Portland Trail Blazers to the list of destinations he'd be amenable to be traded. The Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat were already on the list.

For our purposes, let's focus on the Celtics and Blazers since they're the new teams on this list.

Working under the obvious assumption Jayson Tatum is untouchable, that would leave Jaylen Brown as the likeliest centerpiece of any trade package for Harden. A package of Brown, Marcus Smart and a pick or two would work under the cap and may be enough to get Harden to Boston. It may also lead to a revolt among Celtics fans, who adore Brown and Smart.

Danny Ainge has shown himself to be ruthless in jettisoning fan favorites in the past in pursuit of a championship—most notably including Isaiah Thomas in the Kyrie Irving package. Trading Thomas after he played through a hip injury didn't ingratiate Ainge much to players around the league, and Irving wound up leaving after two frustrating seasons, but Harden would clearly give Boston a better chance at making the Finals. 

It's unclear if the Irving situation left Ainge a little wary of acquiring, let's just say, mercurial stars.

The Blazers are the more interesting addition, because they may have a willingness but not quite an ability to get into the Harden sweepstakes. Any trade package begins with CJ McCollum, the longtime loyal costar to Damian Lillard who nonetheless is nowhere near Harden's stratosphere. 

While McCollum would give the Rockets a solid borderline All-Star to stay competitive, he's 29 years old and not good enough to be a standalone piece in a Harden trade. Unfortunately for Portland, that's where things fall apart. The Blazers could add Anfernee Simons, Nasir Little and picks to a package, but there is no blue-chipper. 

Portland's best bet may be constructing a three-way trade. 

Regardless, Portland and Boston rank at the bottom of likeliest destinations among Harden's list.