James Harden to…. Philly?
James Harden has made it clear to the Houston Rockets front office and the media — he doesn’t want to play there anymore.
His four choices of preferred trade destinations include the Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks, Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers. To be realistic, we can’t mark off three of those teams right off the bat.
For Brooklyn, their likely package of players and picks wouldn’t be enough to acquire the perennial All-Star. Caris Levert, Spencer Dinwidde, Jarrett Allen and picks can only get a team so far.
Milwaukee would have to trade away their few picks remaining in the coming drafts, and are less likely to make another move after acquiring Jrue Holiday this off-season. The only way it becomes feasible is if the Bucks put Khris Middleton on the market — probably a safe bet to assume that’s not going to happen.
In Miami, the play for Giannis next summer is still viable, plus it’s been reported they’re not willing to part ways with young stud Tyler Herro.
The one team remaining, Philadelphia, has two stars that don’t match well together, a bevy of picks, young talent and one horrendously large contract in Tobias Harris. All it comes down to for the 76ers is who they’re willing to part with.
First off — it’d be quite the shock to see Joel Embiid sent out of town. The Rockets already have DeMarcus Cousins and Kristian Wood on their roster. Three centers in today’s game wouldn’t make sense and having both Harden and Ben Simmons in the same backcourt would be a clunky fit.
The first of two packages that make sense for both teams sends Simmons, Mike Scott (to make money work) and a pick or two to Houston for James Harden. This unclogs the backcourt for the 76ers, allows them to move on with solely Embiid and Harden, and lets them hang on to their young talent. For Houston, they get a versatile player and defensive stalwart to move forward with. Simmons can go to that power forward role while Wall is still under contract and healthy for the Rockets.
The second option comes with Philly being unwilling to move Simmons or Embiid. A combo of Matisse Thybulle, Tobias Harris, Tyrese Maxey and Philly’s 2021 and 2023 first round picks gets it done.
The Rockets walk away with a talented young defender in Thybulle, a proven scorer in Harris (who also makes the money work), a high-upside rookie in Tyrese Maxey, and two future picks to continue to build. It won’t provide the immediate fruit like the addition of Simmons would, but it allows the Rockets to go full-rebuild.
This trade wouldn’t be viable until the turn of the new year, as Maxey’s rookie contract will keep him in Philadelphia until then — this circumstance would come in a circumstance where Harden refuses to play for the Rockets, and Houston’s front office finally relents to the superstar.
Should it come to fruition and the Sixers walk away holding on to Simmons, Embiid and Harden, it’d be tough to bet against Philadelphia coming out of the East. While it may take a while to find team chemistry with all that talent, the 76ers would be immediately thrust into the NBA championship conversation.
