Daryl Morey and James Harden spent many productive years together as members of the Houston Rockets organization. While they didn’t end up winning a championship together, there have been reports that Daryl Morey wants to bring James Harden to the 76ers to pair him with Joel Embiid.
Originally, it was believed that Daryl Morey would wait until the offseason to try and get James Harden. However, it seems as though the trade might be closer than we think. Shams Charania of The Athletic has recently revealed that the 76ers will pursue a Ben Simmons-James Harden trade ahead of the deadline, with the Nets “open to discussing a deal”.
With the NBA trade deadline just days away on Feb. 10, the 76ers are expected to pursue Harden in the coming days and the Nets are believed to be open to discussing a deal, sources with knowledge of the situation tell The Athletic. There’s expectation that both the 76ers and Nets will engage in dialogue on a deal around Simmons for Harden this week, multiple sources say, with Philadelphia holding a chest of role players in Seth Curry, Tyrese Maxey and Matisse Thybulle that could sweeten a potential package. Still, there’s no urgency for Nets officials, who have had the steadfast belief that the current core, as is, has the means necessary for a championship. However, it’s believed that an opening exists should an offer elevate the team and make the roster more well-rounded as the franchise pursues a championship.
There is no doubt that this would be a league-changing trade if it were to happen. James Harden and Joel Embiid would form one of the best duos in the league. Ben Simmons in turn would be able to play with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.
It remains to be seen if a deal does actually go through for both teams. It would also be interesting to see what sort of package James Harden would command from the 76ers. Regardless, this seems like an intriguing possibility for both teams.
