NBA Trade Rumors: Are the Rockets close to trading James Harden to Philly?
Less than 24 hours after James Harden told reporters that the Houston Rockets were “not good enough” to compete in the Western Conference and that he was in a situation that he didn’t believe could be fixed, there are reports that the Rockets and potentially closing in on a deal with the Philadelphia 76ers or Brooklyn Nets.
Houston's talks with Sixers and Nets gathered momentum in recent days -- even before James Harden's news conference on Tuesday night, sources tell @ramonashelburne and me.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 13, 2021
Another report suggests that the Rockets are hoping to land a deal with the Sixers that would be centered around Ben Simmons and Tyrese Maxey. Philadelphia would likely also have to include a few picks as sweeteners, and potentially salary-filler to make it work (especially if PJ Tucker is involved in the deal).
From all indications, based on what has been reported, a package centered around Simmons and Maxey does appear to be the best possible package at the moment.
Houston is increasingly determined to complete a James Harden trade as soon as today, league sources say, and has chased the promising Maxey in addition to Simmons
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) January 13, 2021
Philly is known to covet Houston's PJ Tucker in addition to Harden while the Nets have also remained in pursuit
Nevertheless, there’s no question that there needs to be some resolution sooner rather than later regarding James Harden. After the post-game press conference that he had with reporters Tuesday night, it was clear that he was pushing to be moved and that, especially for team morale, it was something that needed to be addressed.
You can’t have your best player on the team saying that the team is not good enough and that there is no way for significant improvement to change that fact. Even though all are professionals in that locker room, you can’t feed that type of negativity to the team.
Even less so considering the Rockets are being led by first-year coach Stephen Silas. Not to mention that he’s been put in such an unfair situation. He doesn’t deserve this and neither does the team. If James Harden is traded soon, it will only help both Silas and the Rockets. And Harden at the same rate, too.
The hope is that we’re seeing the light at the end of this tunnel for James Harden and the Houston Rockets. Hopefully, it ends up working out for all parties involved. And everyone involved could get back to focusing on basketball.
So, will James Harden be a member of the Philadelphia 76ers at the end of the day? Or at the end of the week? We shall see.