The Philadelphia 76ers have made plenty of changes to their leadership this offseason to start the NBA offseason. With Daryl Morey now in the mix as President of Basketball Operations, is Houston Rockets superstar James Harden a potential trade target?
According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the Philadelphia 76ers are expected to pursue Houston Rockets superstar James Harden— the winner of the 2018 NBA MVP award.
The Rockets are not expected to have any interest in a potential trade involving Harden and for good reason. Houston can remain quite competitive with Russell Westbrook and plenty of other talented players to pair with Harden.
“You have James Harden and Russell Westbrook and you have almost 90 percent of your salaries tied up in them and Eric Gordon,” Rockets owner Tim Fertitta told CNBC, via the Houston Chronicle. “But anytime you have players like Eric, P.J. (Tucker), James and Russell, there’s no reason to blow up your roster.”
Just because the Rockets aren’t interested in moving Harden doesn’t mean the 76ers shouldn’t try to make it happen. It would just take an incredible amount of compensation in a trade package in order to get something done.
The Rockets would likely need to feel as though they can compete at a high-level in the short-term after trading Harden. The 76ers do have a questionably fitting duo in Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons that could be broken up in order to pursue Harden.
This offseason is likely too soon for the Philadelphia 76ers to make their play for James Harden. The Houston Rockets may need to experience a step back without Daryl Morey running the show and have Harden become tired of underachieving results to ultimately seek a change of scenery.
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