Why The Philadelphia 76ers Do The Deal 

In the event that the Sixers retain Harden, this makes perfect sense. It would be the most talented team in the NBA if they were to join forces. 

There’s no reason to believe Harden and Lillard can’t co-exist effectively, either. It would be an antiquated way of thinking to think that way. Harden is an elite distributor, and Lillard is an elite player off of the ball. 

As a result of that, this looks a bit different if Harden leaves the team. All told, losing him, Harris, and Maxey to bring in Lillard would be an overall roster downgrade. Does it make sense for the Sixers to do that? 

Yes, of course. There is a possibility that pairing Lillard and Joel Embiid would make more sense than pairing Harden and Embiid together. Additionally, it should be able to attract free agents as well.

NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Damian Lillard, Philadelphia 76ers & Portland Trail Blazers Updates

In the event that the Sixers lose Harden in the future, this deal still makes sense for them. Assuming they don’t accomplish their goals in 2022-23, of course.