Besides operating him as the sole veteran leader of their youth program, the Houston Rockets may opt to keep and utilize Eric Gordon as an instrument to regain their former franchise cornerstone.
As per hintings of ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, should Gordon not be moved this season, he could be an important component for Houston to ignite a reunion with James Harden.
“Some people I’ve talked to in Houston say there’s an understanding that James Harden really enjoys playing with Eric Gordon,” MacMahon said, per ClutchFans.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski was the one who sparked the idea that Harden is indeed targeting a return to Houston. Though the All-Star guard already rejected this, speculations are still swirling which whispers that reconnection might be possible soon.
As such, Gordon and Harden are familiar with each other based on their shared exploits and playoff wars from 2017 to 2020. If intentions of reunion are clear, Rockets may guarantee the veteran’s $20.9 million earnings for 2023-24 and force him to help on their pitch to lure the future Hall of Famer to be back, who can turn down his $35.6MM player option next year and become an unrestricted free agent.
With Houston set to be lottery-bound for three straight years, they already got plenty of promising and coveted pieces for their future. Possibly adding Harden can only solidify them to revive their status as one of the NBA’s heavyweight teams.
