Although Houston Rockets star James Harden has been subject to widespread trade chatter in recent months, his salary and status as one of the NBA’s most electrifying scorers makes finding potential deals a difficult proposition. However, one team has emerged as a likely landing spot in the event that the Rockets become motivated to move the former MVP, according to The New York Times ‘ Marc Stein.
On Friday afternoon, the league insider tweeted that his sources rank the Philadelphia 76ers as the franchise most likely to be Harden’s destination in a possible deal.
Despite boasting an elite-level offense for the majority of the 31-year-old’s run with the Rockets, the club has failed to break out of a tough Western Conference in the years since he made the move to Houston in 2012. Consequently — and amid major organizational changes following the team’s disappointing 2019-20 campaign — he has expressed a desire to be traded to another franchise with legitimate title aspirations.
Initially, it was reported that his preferred destination was Brooklyn, where he could form a new super team alongside Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving with the Nets. The 76ers had also been mentioned for some time as a potential trade partner. However, The Athletic ‘s Shams Charania indicated earlier this week that Harden has expanded his wish list to include the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat.
Nevertheless, Philadelphia may have a leg up on the competition for multiple reasons. For one, former Rockets general manager Daryl Morey has taken charge of the club’s basketball operations after leaving his post in Houston earlier this offseason. In addition to having a relationship with Harden, Morey has worked extensively with his former club’s new GM, Rafael Stone, which could aid in the negotiating process.
Additionally, the Sixers arguably have the best assets to offer as compensation. Specifically, they have a prime bargaining chip in All-Star guard Ben Simmons, who would give the Rockets a young superstar to build around in a rebuilding scenario.
However, as noted by Stein in his Twitter thread, Philly is currently insisting that it won’t trade Simmons. Moreover, the Rockets have reportedly maintained that they’re not looking to move Harden despite his purported desire to begin anew somewhere else.
Although Harden is on the back end of his prime years, he showed no signs of slowing down during the 2019-20 campaign, leading the NBA in scoring for the third consecutive season. As tracked by Basketball-Reference , the eight-time All-Star averaged 34.3 points, 7.5 assists and 6.6 rebounds per game last season.
