NBA Trade Rumors: Pros and cons of Philadelphia 76ers not trading James Harden

NBA Trade Rumors: Breaking down the pros and cons of the Philadelphia 76ers deciding to not trade James Harden before the start of the season.

Shortly after it was announced that James Harden and the Philadelphia 76ers were going to work together to find a trade this summer, the overwhelming thought was that the former’s time with the latter was all but over. However, that seemed to all have changed in the matter of the last few days.

It was recently reported that the Sixers have decided to end trade talks centered around Harden and, instead, are preparing to carry him on the roster heading into the start of the season (or training camp). At least for now, the Sixers don’t plan on trading Harden.

The Philadelphia 76ers have decided to call James Harden’s bluff, not trade him

Predictably, that leaves Harden in an awkward scenario. From all indications, if he’s going to find his way to the LA Clippers (which is where he reportedly wants to be traded), he may have to find a way to apply non-existent pressure on the Sixers.

That could come in the way of not showing up to training camp, having a sit-down interview to throw the Sixers’ management under the bus, or perhaps even more calmly by applying pressure behind the scenes. The Sixers are clearly calling Harden’s bluff and there’s no predicting how it’s all going to pan out.

In an attempt to get an idea of how this could all end, we explore some potential pros and cons for the Sixers in their decision to not trade Harden before the season.