To play this semantics game, Harden is a swingman, not a combo guard.
My two cents.
Swingman would be best
So no longer a "combo guard by definition?" Which is a confusing assertion because now you also have to prove Harden plays significant time at the 1 (as in, the shortest guy on the floor).
Swingman plays more than 2 postions. Harden can play PG and SG without being over matched he can play spot minutes at SF. Playing SF isn't enough to be a swingman it's 3 positions. He can be swung to 3 positions. Which is the point I was making that makes him a swing man. Today's swingman is confused with SG/SF capable players. Swingman is for guys that could play 3 spots. So C/PF/SF is a swingman. PG/SG/SF is a swingman. It's a special player
Well, that's never how I understood the term. I understood it as the equivalent of combo forward (SF/PF) and combo guard (SG/PG), but used to refer to a "combo" of SG/SF (because calling someone a "guard-forward" is an awkward and oxymoronic term and doesn't roll off the tongue as nicely as swingman or ideally, wing).
Same way no one uses "forward-center." It's awkward, so people say/write "big," which is easier/quicker.
AKA, "swingman" is a specific type of "tweener," or player who primarily plays TWO positions, not three. Players who have legitimately played major minutes at 3 different positions don't really exist in the NBA (there's a handful players who could get away with it like LeBron and Jordan, but I can't think of any who have physically done it).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tweener_(basketball)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SwingmanIn basketball, the term "swingman" (aka "guard-forward") denotes a player who can play both the shooting guard (2) and small forward (3) positions, and, in essence swing between the positions. Most swingmen range from 6' 4" (1.93 m) to 6' 9" (2.06 m) in height. The term was first applied to John Havlicek.
Was Havlicek not a point forward (also same height as Harden and Oscar)?
Continue reading the wiki page to see a list of other guys who were swingmen. Some were taller than Harden, some shorter, but none of them you would ever see described as able to swing between the 1, 2, and 3 easily. Aside from perhaps Iggy.
You'll also see a link to the "combo guard" page, where it describes the player as 6'2"-6'4", and gives a list of players who don't resemble Harden.
Also, if you want to make the argument that Harden could swing to the 1 easier than the 3, (which you did in your post) I think you'll lose that one too. How many times total in his career has he played the 1 (as in, the shortest guy on the floor, guarding the opposing PG)? If you look at his size, slowness, rebounding talent, and tendency to play in the paint, he makes an unbelievably better SF than PG. Not to mention his defense. Much better vs. slower players, PGs will just blow past him, and he probably won't try to recover, or even keep up. If you have the biggest hole in your defense guarding the PG, you're pretty stupid because that's just asking the other team to get easy offense.