3 teams that could sign James Harden away from the Clippers
By Will Eudy
2. Orlando Magic
One of the more fun developmental stories in the NBA right now is the Orlando Magic. Over the last several seasons, they have been building through smart drafting and careful, steady internal improvement, and the result has become a defensive-minded, high-end playoff caliber squad. It was less than two months ago this team came one game away from their first playoff series win since 2010.
As an exciting and young roster, the Magic may be interested in investing in a veteran to give them some stability as they continue figuring things out. Markelle Fultz and Gary Harris could both potentially depart this offseason. If they did, it would result in a significant amount of cap space opening up.
Orlando could fill that space by signing Harden to a new deal. The fit could end up making a lot of sense, as James is headed toward the end of his career and can stay relevant by leaning into the game-managing distributor role, much the opposite of the style he employed on his way to multiple top-three MVP finishes.
The Magic are already on their way to becoming a perennial playoff squad in the East. Adding a vet with plentiful playoff experience could help them maximize their output.