Golden State Warriors: Would a hypothetical trade for James Harden work?

How James Harden would fit on the Golden State Warriors

Putting one of the most gifted scorers in recent NBA history and a former MVP in James Harden with one of the most gifted scorers in recent NBA history and a 2-time former MVP in Steph Curry.

What could go wrong? A lot is the answer.

While this trade sounds wonderful on paper, there are some causes for concern for the Golden State Warriors.

On the bright side, the Golden State Warriors have 1st hand experience of one of the most gifted scorers in recent NBA history and a former MVP in Kevin Durant being on the Warriors and helping Golden State reach new heights.

If Harden can come in and fill a similar role to Durant in terms of ball movement and shooting then the Warriors have a real chance to get better via this trade.

Harden on the Warriors also gives Golden State another ball-handler who can help spread the wealth to the rest of the team and who will demand considerable respect when he has the ball in his hands.

This could be music to Steph Curry’s ears who could get untold better looks than he has since Kevin Durant left for Brooklyn in the summer of 2019. On the other hand, there is a serious amount of room for things to go horribly wrong for the Warriors.

With James Harden being such an iso heavy player, the Warriors famed ball movement could ground to a halt and force the Warriors to become a lot more one dimensional in terms of how they score the ball.

Taking the ball out of Steph’s hands could force his production to take a serious dip and in turn, could force the rest of the roster to potentially not play their best basketball. Harden would be a step in the wrong direction for the Warriors defensively as Klay is one of the better guard defenders in the NBA.

Harden has shown to be a tough personality to gel with. He famously has clashed with Chris Paul and Dwight Howard in two separate instances with the Rockets and with a player such as Draymond Green on the Warriors who is not willing to hold his tongue, it could cause a volatile environment.