Why Is ‘Harden to Miami’ Trending Under Politics on Twitter?

“Harden to Miami” started trending nationally on Twitter under the “politics” tab on December 15, and Heat fans took notice. Users online voiced their confusion and tried to guess why the rumored blockbuster trade that would bring James Harden to the Miami Heat would be considered a political issue.

While Harden possibly leaving the Houston Rockets is major news, it’s not something Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell or House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is debating in Congress.

Twitter regularly miscategorizes trending news under the wrong tab, but because this mistake happened on the heels of Giannis Antetokounmpo signing his supermax $228.2 million deal to stay with the Milwaukee Bucks, this “political” issue received national attention.

One person tweeted, “Congress is hard at work they got Harden to Miami,” while another online user joked, “I hate talking about politics but Harden to Miami.”

Users online had fun with the mishap and tweeted out some hilarious guesses as to why “Harden to Miami” was possibly being filed under the politics tab.

Other people took the mistake to knock on Twitter. One man tweeted, “Y’all know the Twitter algorithm is f***** when Harden to Miami is trending in politics lol I mean the move would be a political basketball one.”

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With Giannis Staying In Milwaukee, Does That Mean Harden’s Trade to the Heat Is Imminent?

Just because Antetokounmpo dashed Heat fans’ dreams of the Greek Freak heading to Miami, that does not mean that Harden’s trade from the Rockets is a sure thing.

While Antetokounmpo’s deal is a blow to the numerous teams protecting cap space to make a run at him in free agency this summer, the Heat included, Miami does have the cap space to spend their money getting talent elsewhere. While Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo are under contract next season, just about everyone else has a team option lurking.

After letting key rotation player Jae Crowder hear to Phoenix, the Heat could potentially have more than $40 million in cap space next summer.

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Heat Head Coach Erik Spoelstra was unrattled by the Antetokounmpo’s 5-year re-signing deal. “This team is about now,” Spoelstra said, according to Ira Winderman, effectively brushing off any rumors that his team would flail without Antetokounmpo.

While the Heat was positioned to take the two-time MVP if he became available, Spoelstra has managed to keep last season’s team pretty much intact. Aside from Butler and Adebayo, Goran Dragic, Meyers Leonard, and Tyler Herro are back. During the off-season, Miami also added Avery Bradley and Moe Harkless to the squad.

Whether or not Heat can grab Harden, Spoelstra is keeping his focus on once again winning the Eastern Conference title and bringing the Heat back to the NBA Finals.

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Butler Says He Now ‘Can’t Wait for the Heat vs. Bucks Matchup’

As for Butler, he’s super pumped that Giannis is staying in Milwaukee. “He’s a hell of a player,” Butler said. “He wants to be great. It’s our job to get better, each and every day, each and every year. He’s done a phenomenal job at it. They got a good core group around him. It’s going to be interesting. It’s going to be fun to watch. It’s going to be fun to go to battle against those guys.”

The 5-time All-Star says he gets inspired by going up against all the NBA greats in the league right now. He said:

I like it. I don’t think you can go around him. I don’t think you can go around LeBron either. You have to go right through them. You have to beat them. You also have to beat the Sixers, Boston, Toronto. There’s a lot of squads in the East with some really good players. Doesn’t intimidate me none. I actually get excited for it. I want to go up against the best, my guys want to go up against the best. That’s our way to show we belong. That’s how we get our respect.

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