Rockets dodged a huge James Harden bullet in his new contract

Although the possibility of a James Harden reunion with the Rockets felt remotely alive for a split second, he is now officially off the table after signing a new 3-year/$97 million contract with the Cavaliers. The Rockets should be grateful they never seriously engaged in talks with Harden, because that contract is bound to age poorly as Harden turns 37 in a few short days. Houston can't afford to throw away money at an aging player like that while they have their own young core to build around.

Harden's contract would be a nightmare for the Rockets

The Rockets have done a good job of signing players on bargain deals in recent years, but their payroll is about to get a whole lot more expensive once Amen Thompson agrees to his extension. Thompson is expected to get a huge payday that will make every bit of cap flexibility that much more valuable for the Rockets. Between Thompson, Alperen Sengun and Kevin Durant, the Rockets will have three big contracts already; they couldn't afford another one with Harden.

Adding Harden on such a big deal would therefore have put a ton of pressure on the Rockets' young core to develop quickly and complement the old duo of Harden and Durant. Just with Durant's age alone, Houston's youngsters are on an accelerated timeline already. But adding another elder statesmen of the same generation on another big contract would put the Rockets into a championship-or-bust situation.

The only way that Harden joining the Rockets made sense would have been if he accepted a cheaper, and likely shorter-term, deal to keep more flexibility for the team. Now, it's clear that he never intended to do that and instead sought to maximize his long-term earnings with the Cavaliers. Harden actually opted out of a more lucrative player option for next season to start the offseason, but got more years at a high salary in exchange. His paycut for next season was necessary for Cleveland to add Peyton Watson in a sign-and-trade.

Houston will need to find offensive answers elsewhere

As nostalgic as it would have been seeing Harden in a Rockets jersey again, even he wasn't a guaranteed fix for the Rockets' offensive problems at his current age. The Beard isn't the same player now as the MVP candidate we once knew in the Space City. And the Rockets themselves still need more stability and creation from the point guard spot.

They're hoping Fred VanVleet can step back in to fill that role next season after returning from injury, but there's no guarantee he can keep up his level of play either. The Rockets might need more individual talent that what VanVleet can provide at this stage in his career. In the long run, that will have to come from some other sources; ideally it would be growth from Reed Sheppard but his future in Houston is still a huge unknown.

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