Via NBA.comWhen the Houston Rockets presumably, hand the Wizards their 16th loss of the season tonight, they’ll be led by shooting guard James Harden, who is currently fifth in the NBA in points per game.
But, had the Wizards acted on a trade opportunity last summer, The Washington Post reports, Harden could have been suiting up for the D.C. crowd. Harden’s former team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, were all set to offload the famously bearded Harden to the Wizards in exchange for untested rookie Bradley Beal and second-year forward Chris Singleton.
Harden, by the way, is averaging 24.7 points per game so far, and while the Rockets’ record is a disappointing 9-11, that’s a hell of a lot better than the Wizards’ league-worst 3-15.
The Post reports that the deal was offered because the Thunder were going to exceed the NBA’s salary cap if they held on to Harden, who is set to make a league-maximum $13.7 million next season. But had the trade went through, the Wizards would be the ones paying a luxury tax:
If the Wizards had traded for Harden, his $5.8 million salary this season would not have changed the team’s payroll much. But with the maximum deal Harden signed with Houston, his salary will jump to $13.7 million next season, when the Wizards would be committing almost $68 million in salary for just 10 players.
Even if the Wizards filled out the 15-man roster with minimum-salaried players, that would have potentially put the team’s payroll above the current luxury tax threshold of almost $70 million this season.
So, instead of a team owned by a billionaire having to shell out a small penalty for a very good player, Washington gets the worst squad in the NBA whose one star player has been riding the bench all year.
By the way, even on the road, no one wants to see the Wizards play. Tickets for tonight’s game at the Toyota Center begin at 75 cents on StubHub.
