Rumors about James Harden moving to the Philadelphia 76ers have been heating up this past week, with a move seeming more and more likely as further reports come out. The Sixers have been trying to trade Ben Simmons since the season began but their insistence on getting a superstar in return for him may have paid off, with Harden seemingly wanting to move to the franchise.
The Beard has missed some games for the Brooklyn Nets in the last week or so, the official reason for that being hamstring soreness. However, it has led to a lot of speculation about Harden’s desire to stay with Brooklyn and now Adrian Wojnarowski has explained that the guard does indeed desire a trade to Philly. However, Harden hasn’t filed a trade request yet, with Wojnarowski also explaining why.
Harden's hopeful Morey secures trade for him today, but Morey and Sean Marks have yet to become engaged in serious dialogue on a deal. There’s an expectation sides will talk today and possibility of deal remains. Both teams are left measuring the risk-reward of a Harden deal now. https://t.co/WeyG7q8Eee
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 10, 2022
“Although Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden wants a trade to the Philadelphia 76ers, he has resisted making that formal request out of fear of the public backlash that would come with asking out of a second franchise in consecutive seasons.”
“Harden’s hopeful Morey secures trade for him today, but Morey and Sean Marks have yet to become engaged in serious dialogue on a deal. There’s an expectation sides will talk today and possibility of deal remains. Both teams are left measuring the risk-reward of a Harden deal now.”
James Harden famously forced his way out of Houston after losing faith in the direction of the franchise and it seems that just a year on from that debacle, he is hoping to switch teams again. Harden was knocked across the league for joining the Nets to make a superteam and requesting a trade already after he forced his Nets move will surely lead to more criticism.
For their part, this is the ideal scenario for the Sixers if they can strike a deal that brings Harden to Philly. The way Joel Embiid is playing has been quite promising and the addition of Harden would immediately make them championship contenders. Considering that the Nets are reportedly demanding more players than just Simmons in a potential trade, a deal being struck before the trade deadline is still hard to see.
