Philadelphia 76ers: Making the case for and against trading for James Harden

Why the Philadelphia 76ers should make a trade for James Harden

On the surface, an NBA team that is looking to win a championship should never say no to acquiring a top 5 player in the league. At this point in his career, that’s exactly what James Harden is.

Harden is (arguably) the best offensive player in the league and has come a long way on the defensive end over the last few years. He’s a former MVP and has consistently been one of the league’s best players ever since being traded to Houston. He almost single-handedly transformed the Rockets into a title contender in the Western Conference and would make a huge impact on any team that trades for him.

For the Sixers, he could be viewed as the missing piece. Any scenario in which the Sixers land Harden almost certainly will cost Ben Simmons. Assuming that remains the case, the Sixers would have to ask if a core of Harden and Embiid (with their supporting cast) would be enough to contend in the East?

On paper, you’d almost assume so. When healthy, Embiid is the best center in the NBA. He’s also one of the best rim-protectors in the league. If the Sixers would be able to keep Tobias Harris, he would give the team a strong third option and depth on offense.

Philadelphia would immediately catapult into arguably the best offense in the Eastern Conference and with Doc Rivers calling the shots as the team’s new head coach, this would be a team that many would consider a strong contender to win the 2020-21 championship.

Trading for a top 5 player that would transform the Sixers into a legit championship contender is worth having to move Ben Simmons, who while has the potential to be a great player simply hasn’t lived up to the monster expectations that he entered the NBA with.