NBA: 3 teams who should trade for James Harden if Rockets trade him
Philadelphia 76ers
A fresh start for both franchises. The Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid duo just isn’t working.
At there absolute best, they are a dominant duo that is capable of putting teams to the sword but unfortunately, those days are few and far between. A huge portion of the blame for why the duo hasn’t worked is that they occupy the same space.
Embiid is a back to the basket center. Simmons can’t shoot at all and gets the vast majority of his points at the rim. For both of them to get hot, they need to be in the paint.
So far for the 76ers it just hasn’t worked out and there seems to be a power struggle between the two players about who is the No. 1 guy in Philly.
With James Harden on the team, there would be no question who the number one guy would be. A player like James Harden unlocks the potential of the 76ers. They will finally have the floor spacing that they have so badly wished for since Ben and Joel came together.
Harden steps into the point guard spot opened up by Ben Simmons and in turn, opens up the floor for the 76ers and allows an up and coming talent in Matisse Thybulle to get the minutes vacated by Josh Richardson.
The 76ers could make a further move and trade Al Horford to the Cavaliers for Kevin Love which would even further spread the floor for the Sixers. Joel Embiid and James Harden would be a monstrous duo that could take the NBA by storm. Simmons with the Rockets gives Houston a near-perfect for the system they are trying to run.
A 6-foot-10 point forward who can play virtually any position on the floor. If he could shoot the ball then he would be the perfect fit for them, Simmons gives the Rockets a player to build around long term and they can spend the next few years build a system around Simmons that will allow them to be successful.
Josh Richardson gives the Sixers a player who can play both shooting the guard and small forward and who is a versatile defender and is a league-average 3-point shooter for his career at 36.3 percent from 3.
It may not be the perfect trade for the Rockets but they get good value back for a player in Harden who has seemingly taken the Rockets as far as they can currently go. The Rockets have a better chance long term of landing free agents with Ben Simmons who is only 24 than with James Harden who is now 31.