Kenny Smith: James Harden is 'too good to just trade because he's not happy'

James Harden wants out of Houston, but are the Rockets willing to trade their franchise player? Kenny Smith of "Inside the NBA" was asked if he would trade the former MVP if he was in charge of the Rockets and he told TMZ Sports that a player simply being unhappy is not a good enough reason to trade them, especially if that player is as talented as Harden.

"Nah, I'm not trading my best player if he's not happy," he said. "He's gotta have a better reason. You gotta have a better reason. He's too good to just trade because he's not happy."

Since being traded to Houston from Oklahoma City, Harden has become one of the best players in Rockets franchise history, leading the team to the playoffs in eight consecutive seasons while establishing himself as one of the league's dominant scorers. So, Smith believes that even if a player of Harden's caliber is unhappy, a team needs to hold onto them unless the price is right.

"James Harden is a player that doesn't come around every 10 years," Smith explained. "So, you need a guy who doesn't come around every 10 years to match that."