Sixers Rumors: A Breakdown of the Recent James Harden Trade News
After what seemed to be a short holdout, James Harden finally arrived at Houston Rockets training camp last week. By now, it's no secret the former MVP wants out of Houston as he believes the championship window has closed there.
However, the Rockets aren't making it easy to grant his wish. Not only has Houston made it clear they want to keep Harden on board, but they also placed quite an expensive price tag on any possible trade.
Based on what we know, the Philadelphia 76ers would have to trade Ben Simmons and several first-round picks for Harden. As Houston prefers to keep Harden, they are only willing to part ways with their superstar if they are getting an absolute haul in return.
For weeks, the James Harden trade buzz simmered down, but on Thursday, talks fired up once again as several reports involving the Sixers came out. Here's a complete breakdown of what we know based on Thursday's news dump.
Ben Simmons is Off-Limits?
When Elton Brand temporarily took over the Sixers' front office back in August, the general manager made it clear that the organization wants to build around Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons to complement the two stars.
Then, Daryl Morey joined the front office and took over. Although Morey might think differently than Brand, the former Rockets general manager made it clear that he's on board with keeping Simmons and Embiid together this season as he would like to see the duo go to work under a new head coach and with better-fitting personnel around them.
On Thursday afternoon, The Atheltic's Sam Amick reported that Simmons remains "off-limits" in a trade for Harden. Per Amick's report, the Sixers still want to see Doc Rivers, Simmons, and Embiid work together this year before making any franchise-altering moves. Plus, they aren't willing to pay the desired price for Harden, which is way too expensive at the moment.
Conflicting Reports & Strange Timing
Hours after a report reiterated that Simmons remains "off-limits" in any trades involving Harden, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and The Athletic's Shams Charania both reported that the Sixers had shown a "willingness" to include Simmons in a trade with the Rockets.
While the news itself was significant as it was the first time the Sixers have been rumored to be willing to part ways with Simmons, there are details attached that make the rumors feel less noteworthy.
For starters, negotiations haven't gone very far. Per Wojnarowski, "talks have come nowhere close to a deal." And according to Charania, "conversations aren't fluid." So, what does this mean exactly?
The 76ers might've discussed or listened to a hypothetical scenario where they trade Simmons. Still, there's a clear indication the Sixers aren't actively looking to move on from Simmons, nor are they close to acquiring Harden.
You might be thinking: Why are the rumors out there then? Leverage. Just as multiple outlets report that Simmons is on the table for Harden, the Rockets are also reportedly looking to expand trade talks beyond Harden's desired destinations.
Houston wants the strongest bid possible -- and they want organizations to overpay for their aging All-Star. If other inquiring teams see that the Sixers are actively looking to deal and are including the 24-year-old two-time All-Star, other teams will have to come to the table trying to outbid the Sixers, who have enough ammo to get a deal done.
Daryl Morey Speaks
Several reports shot down the notion that the Sixers are trying to trade Ben Simmons roughly about an hour after Woj and Shams' reports came out. As if a few reports weren't enough, Sixers' President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey went ahead and reassured everybody that Simmons isn't going anywhere.
"We are not trading Ben Simmons," the Sixers' President of Basketball Ops told Shams Charania on Thursday night. "He is an important part of our future.” Morey has said the same thing all offseason long. He wants to see Simmons and Embiid work together under Doc Rivers with shooters surrounding them.
Trading Simmons isn't an impossible scenario for the Sixers. If the young All-Star duo of Simmons and Embiid fail to coexist on the court together this year before the trade deadline, we could see a change of heart from Philly's front office.
As it stands right now, though, the 76ers don't seem motivated to move on from Simmons -- and the Rockets aren't willing to lower the price on Harden, making it clear that a trade isn't close to happening anytime soon.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_
