This past summer, James Harden’s request to be dealt to the Los Angeles Clippers was denied. The ten-time All-Star tried to exert pressure on the Philadelphia 76ers by going viral with a public statement in which he accused the team’s president of basketball operations, Daryl Morey, of lying. This came about after he saw the team was leaning toward keeping him.

A few days later, Harden declared that he thought there was no turning back his problems with the squad. Despite receiving back-to-back public remarks, the Sixers remained unmoved. There’s no assurance that Harden will fulfill his dream of moving to the West as there have been few discussions between him and the Clippers as of yet.

Would Harden be worth a look from another team looking for a ball handler? A fan of the Miami Heat, perhaps? Although calling the Sixers may make sense in principle, Miami isn’t currently moving in that direction.

The NBA’s worst-kept secret this summer was the Heat’s interest in getting Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers. Dame desired Miami, and Miami desired Dame. Portland most definitely did not want to play matchmaker, even though it was the ideal pairing.

Regarding Lillard, the Blazers tried to be as patient as they could for months. They worked on abruptly speeding up a trade last week. The Blazers presented themselves with various possibilities after speaking with a number of organizations, including the Chicago Bulls and the Toronto Raptors.

Even so, it appeared that Miami would lose the deal, but the Milwaukee Bucks entered the picture and took the NBA by surprise. The Blazers traded Lillard to the top-seeded team in the Eastern Conference for a three-team transaction that excluded the Heat.

Now, with nothing to their name, Miami has three options: Call the Blazers and ask if they can acquire Jrue Holiday. Try to acquire James Harden from the Sixers, or hold out and see if another player becomes available before the deadline for the following season.

It is said that the first scenario is being worked on, but not the second. Anthony Chiang and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald report that Harden is not anticipated to be pursued by the Heat.

In terms of output, Harden demonstrated his continued value last season. Harden averaged 21 points per game while shooting 39 percent from three while playing with Joel Embiid, the league’s scoring leader, and Tyrese Maxey, another prospect who scores more than 20 points each game. At 11 assists per game, he also led the NBA in assists.

So why are other teams hesitating? Well, some who watched closely felt left with a terrible taste in their mouths due to Harden’s inconsistent performance during the playoffs. Despite two MVP-caliber performances against the Celtics in the second round, where he twice scored over 40 points in wins, Harden faltered in the two games that really counted.

Harden scored thirteen points on twenty-five percent of his shots in the nine-point Game 6 loss at home. Then, despite making only 27% of his shots, he scored nine points in the away Game 7 elimination contest. The Heat are naturally reluctant to agree to Philadelphia’s allegedly excessive demand to pay Harden over $35 million for perhaps one season as a team that just made it to the NBA Finals.

The Heat aren’t interested in pursuing Harden right now, but anything can happen in the NBA.