With the NBA trade deadline just days away, things have heated up on the rumor mill around the league. One of the teams mentioned most often in these trade rumors has been the Philadelphia 76ers.
Philadelphia has been a part of hypothetical trades for months, going all the way back to the summer when Ben Simmons first requested a trade. They have looked for deals, but nothing has come to fruition, at least not yet. Part of that is their asking price.
Daryl Morey has been clear about what he wants in return for Ben Simmons. He wants an impact, All-Star-caliber player. Some teams are capable of offering a package for Simmons that would help bolster the 76ers’ chances of swinging a deal for such a player, but they want that player to be involved in the deal coming back for Simmons, not to have to make a separate trade.
While there was reportedly a list of players that the Philadelphia 76ers would be willing to take back in such a deal, it has become abundantly clear who they want in return; James Harden of the Brooklyn Nets.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: This Nets-Sixers Trade Features James Harden, Ben Simmons
Morey was in the Houston Rockets’ front office when they acquired Harden from the Oklahoma City Thunder and he attempted to acquire him a second time with the Philadelphia 76ers last season before the Nets got a deal done. Is the third time the charm for Morey acquiring Harden?
While there have been recent reports that James Harden will ultimately end up in Philadelphia, that is not what the Brooklyn Nets feel. Morey reportedly had one conversation centered around Harden with Nets general manager Sean Marks back on January 11th. It was a brief discussion in which Marks shut down any Harden talk.
“What about James?”
“James who?” Marks responded.
Brooklyn has both James Harden and James Johnson.
“James Harden.”
“No,” Marks said flatly.
Things have reportedly soured between the Nets and Harden, which has led to all of this speculation. As if the Nets didn’t have enough distractions to deal with during an eight-game losing streak, the Harden stuff is just being piled on.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: This Nets-Sixers Trade Features James Harden, Ben Simmons
Nets head coach Steven Nash recently addressed it following a game.
“I’ve talked to James; he wants to be here,” Nash said. “He wants to be here long term as well, so I don’t think anything’s changed other than noise from the outside. James wants to be here, we’re building with James and we think we have the best chance to win with James. I don’t think anything’s changed on the inside, in our locker room, in our communication, it’s just all the noise from the [outside].”
It is interesting that Nash spoke so confidently about James Harden wanting to remain in Brooklyn, as he is one of the reasons mentioned as to why Harden was growing frustrated with the team. His inconsistent rotations are something Harden hasn’t been a fan of, as Nash prefers a hot-hand approach to closing lineups, not having a set group to close out games.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: This Nets-Sixers Trade Features James Harden, Ben Simmons
There are certainly a lot of things to figure out in Brooklyn, as they are free-falling down the standings. They are currently in seventh place, which would put them in the NBA Play-In Tournament and they are only 4.5 games ahead of the 11th place Washington Wizards.
If they cannot get James Harden back healthy soon, especially with Kevin Durant sidelined a few more weeks, things will remain ugly on the court for the Brooklyn Nets.
