The Miami Heat have been one of the teams most mentioned as a potential trade suitor for James Harden from the Houston Rockets. However, a deal has yet to be completed and there’s a critical factor in play contributing to that result.

According to Five Reasons Spots’ Ethan J. Skolnick, the inclusion of sharpshooter Duncan Robinson is a ‘major sticking point’ for the Miami Heat in a potential trade for James Harden.

There has been much made about the Heat potentially not being willing to part with Tyler Herro in a potential trade for Harden. It has since been reported that Miami would be willing to include Herro in a potential trade package to get something done.

If it’s implied that Herro would be included in a trade for Harden, it’s somewhat understandable for the Heat to not want to include Robinson. Even then, it doesn’t make a ton of sense for Miami to not be willing to put Robinson in a deal when considering Harden is a perennial MVP candidate.

The Heat benefited a lot from scorching hot perimeter shooting from Goran Dragic and Jae Crowder en route to an NBA Finals appearance. Counting on the results achieved in the bubble to sustain outside of that environment is simply not the best of strategies for Miami.

Capitalizing on the all-time high trade value of the supporting cast talent would be a strong course of action for the Heat. If it can land a player like James Harden, there’s little reason to avoid pulling off a trade because pairing him with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo would be a very strong trio.

With the Brooklyn Nets now having Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, it’s not going to be easy to break through the Eastern Conference. The Miami Heat would be as strong as any contender by adding James Harden, who has emerged as the NBA’s top scorer.