The Philadelphia 76ers have gone through some major changes in recent NBA offseasons as they look to climb the mountaintop and win the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
This year, the biggest move, thus far, was firing head coach Doc Rivers and replacing him with Nick Nurse, who was fired by the Toronto Raptors this offseason.
But, the roster could undergo a major change at some point as well. James Harden sounds like he is looking to leave town after coming to the organization on February 10th, 2022 from the Brooklyn Nets.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: James Harden & Philadelphia 76ers Updates
This is the third time in as many years that Harden has looked to force his way off of a team. In 2021, he was traded by the Houston Rockets to the Nets as he sought a new opportunity. He didn’t like how things were progressing in Brooklyn and was traded to Philadelphia, where he is looking to move on from now as well.
However, the 76ers aren’t going to make things easy. While they will scour the league for a trade partner, Daryl Morey isn’t going to just give Harden away. We have seen in the past that he will wait as long as it takes until he receives a package that he likes.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: James Harden & Philadelphia 76ers Updates
While making an appearance recently on SportsCenter, NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski provided an update on the situation between Harden and the 76ers. Not surprisingly, he is reporting that the asking price is very high.
“Philadelphia has asked teams—has been really high and that’s how Daryl Morey has operated. When you have seen other situations where players have been ready to move on. Look back to Ben Simmons. He kept Simmons for an entire year before he traded him out. He did that move quickly on a deal. They’ve got to get value for James Harden if they’re going to trade him. You are in this window with Joel Embiid trying to win championships with him. This is not an easy trade to make with essentially trading for an expiring contract in James Harden. I think it’s another situation that’s going to play out through free agency, into summer league, and probably beyond.”
It is hard to pinpoint exactly where Harden could end up. Morey and the 76ers may be looking for a huge return, but on an expiring contract, teams aren’t going to unload a ton of assets for Harden. Seeking out his fourth team in as many seasons won’t help his cause either. Eventually, a person needs to look at themselves in the mirror and ask, are they the problem?
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: James Harden & Philadelphia 76ers Updates
The No. 1 goal for Morey in these negotiations is to ensure that they can get players in return that keeps them at contender status. Joel Embiid is coming off of an MVP campaign and it would be detrimental to the franchise to ruin that momentum by not acquiring a good supporting player in a Harden deal.
This trade is going to have ramifications for years to come. If the 76ers are unable to receive a package that pushes the needle further, we could soon be talking about Embiid trade requests.
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