NBA MVPs in the prime of their career are never traded
Say what you want about his shortcomings in the playoffs, James Harden is a great player despite those faults. He won an NBA MVP award in 2018 and is coming off a season in which he finished third in the voting for the 2019-20 season.
There have been nine NBA MVP winners that have been traded in league history and the last time we saw it was when the Boston Celtics acquired Kevin Garnett from the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2007. If you remember, that worked out great for the Celtics. He delivered a championship to Boston in 2008 and helped them reach the NBA Finals one other time.
This is a rare occurrence and players of this skill level are rarely traded. If that’s not something that the Heat can take advantage of, it’s something that another team will. It’s not every day that a James Harden hits the trade block, and it should absolutely change the thinking for the Heat.
At the very least, it’s an option and possibility that should be explored.