James Harden Trade Team Odds: Where are the Knicks?

The polarizing prospect of the New York Knicks trading for James Harden is the latest headline of the young NBA offseason, but they're not quite the favorite in landing his services just yet.

Collaboration between New York and Philadelphia is rare. But amateur and professional basketball observers alike are linking the rival east coast cities when it comes to a potential trade for James Harden.

The renowned offensive talent has inked his $35.6 million player option with the Philadelphia 76ers with the intention of collaborating on a trade. Despite the prescience of backcourt talents like Jalen Brunson and Immanuel Quickley, the New York Knicks have been pegged as a potential destination. 

New odds from Bookies.com place the Knicks fourth in the hunt for Harden's services, currently ranked at +650 and a 13.3 percent chance of moving onto Manhattan. The two Los Angeles teams rank at the top, as the Clippers (+350, 22.2 percent) ever so slightly outpace the Lakers (+450, 18.2). Harden's former employers, the Houston Rockets, separate Southern California and the Knicks in third (+600, 14.3).

Odds compiler Adam Thompson places the Knicks in the same arena as the Phoenix Suns, implying that he's a missing piece of sorts as each side seeks to break past their second-round obstacles en route to a championship team.

"When it comes to need and contender status, that opens the door for the Phoenix Suns, and New York Knicks (an upgrade from Quentin Grimes at SG)," Thompson says, although both of those sides have their shortcomings when it comes to attracting the 76ers' attention. "After acquiring Bradley Beal, does Phoenix have anyone else left to trade? Would the Sixers move The Beard to one of their top rivals in the Knicks? If it's close, the Sixers would prefer to move Harden back to the Western Conference."

To that point, the Knicks are one of just two Eastern Conference teams ranked on the list of nine teams plus "the field." joining the Chicago Bulls (tied for eighth-best odds with the San Antonio Spurs). Harden, set to turn 34 in August, is coming off a season that saw him earn 21 points and an Association-best 10.7 assists per game. That, however, wasn't enough to propel the 76ers beyond the Eastern Conference's second round. 

This offseason presents a hairy situation for Harden, who is set to join his fourth team since January 2021. Whether the Knicks would ... or even should ... get involved remains to be seen, but expect them to linger in almost every rumor.

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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