We don’t need LeBron is what James Harden said in so many words following the 2018 NBA season where Harden had just won NBA MVP and his Houston Rockets were a Chris Paul injury away from defeating the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals. His exact words, when asked about adding a free agent in the offseason like LeBron were,

I don’t think there’s a piece we need to bring in or take away. We’re great with what we have. Our main focus is getting better, getting healthier, and then doing what we do.

With LeBron James having seemingly disappeared this past year on a hapless Lakers squad, and with rumors of a Rockets overhaul coming, following a quick playoff exit, I want to take this moment to call out Harden on how that worked out for him. Harden may be a prolific scorer but he’s not shown leadership qualities that could take a team to the finals. LeBron could have been a perfect piece to push Houston past the Warriors on the way to a Championship. Would adding LeBron in the offseason have made a difference? Was Harden right at the time to steer Houston away from adding a major piece like LeBron?

Article from when Harden responded to those questions last year: https://www.sbnation.com/platform/amp/2018/6/26/17505454/nba-mvp-james-h...

Article on the potential rebuild of Houston: https://rocketswire.usatoday.com/2019/05/29/houston-rockets-daryl-morey-...