3. Charlotte Hornets
Well, James Harden is not entirely still needed in Charlotte due to the fact they just brought back Miles Bridges, who was recently suspended 30 games by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver after he pleaded no contest to a felony domestic violence charge, but that is a discussion for another day. Then again, who knows what type of player Bridges is going to be after sitting out an entire season due to legal issues?
With that said, you can make a strong argument that the Hornets need more leadership than any other team in the league right now. Moreover, the Hornets are also a team that has only made the playoffs once since rebranding from the Bobcats in 2015. In their 33 years as a franchise, the Bobcats/Hornets have only made the playoffs 10 times and only have four series wins. They’ve never been to the conference finals either.
Harden would be an intriguing addition for the Hornets even with LaMelo Ball on the roster. If Charlotte wanted to move on from Terry Rozier, perhaps they could use Harden as somewhat of a stopgap to help the young team make a splash earlier than expected.