James Harden Wants To Be Traded To Philadelphiia; Won’t Formally Demand Trade Due To Public Backlash

[Arsenal]

We all know Harden is hell bent on Philly.

He won't go to Portland. Its an empty threat.

Dame is not Embiid. They wouldn't be a serious contender.

You still don't seem to understand.

PHI can trade Ben into POR's cap for only picks in return.

Then can then clear Harris into OKC's cap by using some of the picks they get for Ben.

Then they can sign Harden outright leaving BKN with ZERO.

But is Philly a better team with Simmons (or whatever players Simmons could bring) and Harris, or with an ageing, increasingly injury prone, overweight,defense-averse $40M per year Harden?

Maybe it's a wash at first. But over time Morey would fill in the margins of the roster to make it better.

That's what he does.

[Pointgod]

Personally if I was Morey I wouldn't do a deal with BKN....because that could blow up in his face.

People keep talking/treating Harden like he's still the guy from HOU but he's older, slower and becoming more injury prone due to age, likely all that heavy (no pun intended) usage and of course not being in peak physical shape. Not to mention what will his fit with Joel be like?! Personally I like Dame and Beal's fit to play off the ball and roam around the perimeter more as it opens up the floor for Embiid and forces teams to pick their poison. Harden does little to nothing when he isn't on ball, so their offence will likely be a matter of just taking turns other than the occasional drive and lob/drop off to Embiid from Harden. Sure that's an improvement from Ben passing on open dunks but nonetheless I don't think they have some great complimentary fit. Plus no one seems to talk about how Harden chokes in big pressure situations, you think he's going to be able to handle the PHI crowd?! I don't. Then you think of the flipside of the equation and adding Ben to BKN, IF (I know it's a big one) Kyrie eventually complies for his extension or the mandate drops, PHI just f'd themselves...think about it...

Ben would be in THE perfect situation for himself as he'd essentially become a hyper version of Draymond in BKN, they wouldn't need his scoring at all, just to defend and find open shooters which their would be a plethora of if the deal is in fact Ben/Seth. Think about Ben being surrounded by KD, Kyrie, Seth, Patty and Harris -- teams will get their heads bombed on with 3s all day & night just like GSW except they have 2 killers/closers in KD & Kyrie and if you're Morey, you want Harden to rise to the occasion to face off against a pissed off KD in a series while Simmons is locking him down lmao that would end hilariously bad for the Sixers.

So no if I'm Morey, the intelligent thing would be to hold off to the off season and see if one of POR (*ahem*) or OKC (*ahem*) would be interested in helping execute a S&T for Harden while they get Simmons. Send him out West and don't create not only a threat but if fully healthy an even better team than what you made.

Way too many people are prisoners of the moment. Harden didn’t all of a sudden forget how to play over a year.

The Sixers would be getting Harden for a laughable lowball offer. They’re giving up a guy who’s not even playing, keeping Maxey and Thybulle and their core team in the process. They would absolutely destroy the Nets in the proposed trade it’s not even close.

I don’t buy that Harden all of a sudden is garbage and over the hill. He was already playing very well this year and he’ll be even better playing off the attention Embiid draws, then we’ll all be criticizing the Nets and praising Morey for the absolute coup.

You need to understand leverage.

The Nets are forced to do a deal now because otherwise Harden will torpedo their season, then they'll lose him for nothing in the summer.

Yes I understand leverage and Morey is trying to deal a guy who hasn’t played this season and wants out for a top 10 player. Let’s put it this way is KD plus Ben Simmons scaring anyone in the playoffs? Because that’s what the Nets are going to have to deal with for at least two games every round. And if they match up with Toronto, Kyrie won’t be able to play at all. I’m not buying that Harden will torpedo the season, he’s frustrated that he’s not getting enough help. The Nets have some shorterm and expiring contracts along with young players they should move to bring in more pieces around Harden and KD (because Kyrie is a write off)

[Arsenal]

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Simmons + Curry + minor asset (1st, Springer, or Joe) is all they're gonna get.

[bebopdeluxe]

This.
In this summer, with so few teams with cap space, in a bad economy for teams and with an enormous check for non-tax payers, it's almost impossible. I still have to see a realistic scenario where they dump that salary in the summer. Some people need to read the CBA before giving opinions.
Before the deadline they can do it, but they seem reluctant to do that, maybe because nobody wants him?

If the Nets front office is any good, they would have some intel on whether Morey and Presti have talked about OKC taking Harris' contract. There is obvious precedent there, as it was Presti who ate Horford's brutal contract. Harris is nowhere near as bad, Presti has to get to the salary cap floor anyway. and a year of Harris playing with SGA, Giddey and Dort would help those three grow their game. Presti DGAF about where his team finishes next year, with all the draft capital they have from other teams, and he will probably have no problem flipping Harris again for the last year of his deal.

This is actually fairly straight forward.

Morey obviously wants Harden. Embiid, I am sure, has been brought into the loop and is on board with it as well. Trading Harris and getting nothing back would obviously hurt this season; they would probably look to sign somebody like Thad Young if he is bought out for the balance of the season. But if you can get Harden without giving up any assets, that is an awesome long-term play.

Your move, Sean.

OKC doesn’t have the capspace with the SGA extension and incoming rookie contracts. If Derrick Favors declines his 10 million dollar option than I believe they do but other wise they don’t have enough to absorb either Simmons or Harris outright.

I have read in several places that OKC still has over $30 million in cap room; this is from Jake Fischer's Bleacher Report on Monday:

But if the cleanest dynamic requires Philadelphia to create cap space to sign a star outright in free agency, multiple league sources have mentioned the possibility of a Sixers trade with the Thunder to move Harris into Oklahoma City's bounty of cap space.

Philadelphia already owes its top-six protected 2025 first-round pick to the Thunder. The Sixers could remove those protections and offer additional draft capital now that Oklahoma City’s $9.6 million trade exception from a previous Trevor Ariza trade expired and the Thunder have $33.7 million in cap room.

In order to make the numbers work, the Thunder would need to send a salary back - which is why I suggested Williams' contract, as it is non-guaranteed for next season. And there actually is some incentive for OKC to do something, as they current sit below that salary cap floor.

[Mamba81p]

POR now also has $60M cap space. And they really want Ben Simmons.

We all know Harden is hell bent on Philly.

He won't go to Portland. Its an empty threat.

Dame is not Embiid. They wouldn't be a serious contender.

You still don't seem to understand.

PHI can trade Ben into POR's cap for only picks in return.

Then can then clear Harris into OKC's cap by using some of the picks they get for Ben.

Then they can sign Harden outright leaving BKN with ZERO.

OKC has no cap space in the summer. Get your facts right.

[DoItALL9]

Brooklyn should make Philly give Simmons all of his fine money back before the trade

Sent from my LM-G710 using RealGM mobile app

[JB2]

Man... in just a couple short years SETH Curry has become a dealbreaker in a move for James Harden. Bizzaro world we're living in but I'm enjoying watching it.

[Arsenal]

We all know Harden is hell bent on Philly.

He won't go to Portland. Its an empty threat.

Dame is not Embiid. They wouldn't be a serious contender.

You still don't seem to understand.

PHI can trade Ben into POR's cap for only picks in return.

Then can then clear Harris into OKC's cap by using some of the picks they get for Ben.

Then they can sign Harden outright leaving BKN with ZERO.

OKC has no cap space in the summer. Get your facts right.

Do you ever get tired of being wrong? I understand desperation is setting in, but this is sad

OKC has $75M committed next season, which includes Kemba's $28M dead cap.

Which leaves them over $40M in cap room. More than enough to take Simmons or Harris.

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/yearly/cap/

[Mamba81p]

If the Nets front office is any good, they would have some intel on whether Morey and Presti have talked about OKC taking Harris' contract. There is obvious precedent there, as it was Presti who ate Horford's brutal contract. Harris is nowhere near as bad, Presti has to get to the salary cap floor anyway. and a year of Harris playing with SGA, Giddey and Dort would help those three grow their game. Presti DGAF about where his team finishes next year, with all the draft capital they have from other teams, and he will probably have no problem flipping Harris again for the last year of his deal.

This is actually fairly straight forward.

Morey obviously wants Harden. Embiid, I am sure, has been brought into the loop and is on board with it as well. Trading Harris and getting nothing back would obviously hurt this season; they would probably look to sign somebody like Thad Young if he is bought out for the balance of the season. But if you can get Harden without giving up any assets, that is an awesome long-term play.

Your move, Sean.

OKC doesn’t have the capspace with the SGA extension and incoming rookie contracts. If Derrick Favors declines his 10 million dollar option than I believe they do but other wise they don’t have enough to absorb either Simmons or Harris outright.

I have read in several places that OKC still has over $30 million in cap room; this is from Jake Fischer's Bleacher Report on Monday:

But if the cleanest dynamic requires Philadelphia to create cap space to sign a star outright in free agency, multiple league sources have mentioned the possibility of a Sixers trade with the Thunder to move Harris into Oklahoma City's bounty of cap space.

Philadelphia already owes its top-six protected 2025 first-round pick to the Thunder. The Sixers could remove those protections and offer additional draft capital now that Oklahoma City’s $9.6 million trade exception from a previous Trevor Ariza trade expired and the Thunder have $33.7 million in cap room.

In order to make the numbers work, the Thunder would need to send a salary back - which is why I suggested Williams' contract, as it is non-guaranteed for next season. And there actually is some incentive for OKC to do something, as they current sit below that salary cap floor.

They have now, before the deadline. In the summer SGA's extension kicks in. Which is why I keep saying, if Philly wants to clear cap space for Harden they have to trade Tobias now. Nothing is certain and there is risk both ways, and both teams know that.
If Philly knew 100% that Harden will sign with them in the summer, they would just trade Harris now. Simmons can be moved in the summer too.

If Morey unloads Harris now, then Nets have almost no leverage, and they probably have to settle for Simmons alone, but my feeling is that they cannot move Harris, but I could be wrong.

[Pointgod]

Is anyone really scared of KD and Ben Simmons in the playoffs? Let’s ignore Kyrie because he’s a part time player. But does Miami, Milwaukee, Bulls or Sixers lose sleep having to play Simmons and KD? Do the Cavs and Raptors even worry about them? KD+Harden is actually a fearsome because you know those two at the top of their game could carry a team for a couple of rounds. The point is that the Nets are just better off keeping Harden and tinkering around the edges of their roster is better than essentially giving up on their season by trading for Simmons and not getting enough compensation to make it worth it.

[Bobbymcgee]

Harden for Simmons / Curry / Drummond
or
Harden for Simmons / Green

Those seem like the two most realistic trade options.

[Mamba81p]

You still don't seem to understand.

PHI can trade Ben into POR's cap for only picks in return.

Then can then clear Harris into OKC's cap by using some of the picks they get for Ben.

Then they can sign Harden outright leaving BKN with ZERO.

OKC has no cap space in the summer. Get your facts right.

Do you ever get tired of being wrong? I understand desperation is setting in, but this is sad

OKC has $75M committed next season, which includes Kemba's $28M dead cap.

Which leaves them over $40M in cap room. More than enough to take Simmons or Harris.

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/yearly/cap/

read cbafaq and see how cap holds work
I am not desperate. I actually want Simmons + Curry, I just don't like people that think they know everything but don't know squat about anything

[Arsenal]

Is anyone really scared of KD and Ben Simmons in the playoffs? Let’s ignore Kyrie because he’s a part time player. But does Miami, Milwaukee, Bulls or Sixers lose sleep having to play Simmons and KD? Do the Cavs and Raptors even worry about them? KD+Harden is actually a fearsome because you know those two at the top of their game could carry a team for a couple of rounds. The point is that the Nets are just better off keeping Harden and tinkering around the edges of their roster is better than essentially giving up on their season by trading for Simmons and not getting enough compensation to make it worth it.

Harden wants out. He's ready to torpedo the rest of the season if they don't move him.

So it makes no sense to hold onto him.

[Pointgod]

Is anyone really scared of KD and Ben Simmons in the playoffs? Let’s ignore Kyrie because he’s a part time player. But does Miami, Milwaukee, Bulls or Sixers lose sleep having to play Simmons and KD? Do the Cavs and Raptors even worry about them? KD+Harden is actually a fearsome because you know those two at the top of their game could carry a team for a couple of rounds. The point is that the Nets are just better off keeping Harden and tinkering around the edges of their roster is better than essentially giving up on their season by trading for Simmons and not getting enough compensation to make it worth it.

Harden wants out. He's ready to torpedo the rest of the season if they don't move him.

So it makes no sense to hold onto him.

You keep saying this without any proof.

[DusterBuster]

Is anyone really scared of KD and Ben Simmons in the playoffs? Let’s ignore Kyrie because he’s a part time player. But does Miami, Milwaukee, Bulls or Sixers lose sleep having to play Simmons and KD? Do the Cavs and Raptors even worry about them? KD+Harden is actually a fearsome because you know those two at the top of their game could carry a team for a couple of rounds. The point is that the Nets are just better off keeping Harden and tinkering around the edges of their roster is better than essentially giving up on their season by trading for Simmons and not getting enough compensation to make it worth it.

Yea, I've said for awhile KD and Simmons seem like a terrible fit together. But I do get it from the Nets POV, if they don't do this, they lose all the assets they moved to get Harden for nothing. That said, I find it funny how much they're trying to still get more if they're really under the kind of pressure Windhorst is claiming. You would think they would be happy just doing a straight swap and calling it a day.

If I'm the Sixers at this point, I would just move Simmons for expirings and picks right now to signal that the plan is to give the Nets nothing and take Harden from them in FA.

[Schiltzenberger]

I like how Sixers fans think they can just offload $76mil from their salary cap in the offseason to sign Harden. You'd have to gut the team.
No one is taking the Harris contract unless they include Curry, Maxey or Thybulle and picks.
Same with Simmons, you'd have to include picks and another player or 2 for a team to take on that contract, plus the other teams would know Philly are desperate, so they'd be getting fleeced.

Yeah, then you can sign Harden, but you'd have no draft picks for a long time and Embiid/Harden would be playing with the sort of players that the Nets have been using lately. Plus, Embiid will get injured and Harden will go missing in the playoffs anyway.

[DusterBuster]

Is anyone really scared of KD and Ben Simmons in the playoffs? Let’s ignore Kyrie because he’s a part time player. But does Miami, Milwaukee, Bulls or Sixers lose sleep having to play Simmons and KD? Do the Cavs and Raptors even worry about them? KD+Harden is actually a fearsome because you know those two at the top of their game could carry a team for a couple of rounds. The point is that the Nets are just better off keeping Harden and tinkering around the edges of their roster is better than essentially giving up on their season by trading for Simmons and not getting enough compensation to make it worth it.

Harden wants out. He's ready to torpedo the rest of the season if they don't move him.

So it makes no sense to hold onto him.

He may want out, but there's nothing to say he would torpedo the rest of their season? What possible benefit would that be to him - especially going into FA. Why wouldn't he just play out the rest of the season - hope for the best, then just bolt as a FA?

[bisme37]

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[Pointgod]

You still don't seem to understand.

PHI can trade Ben into POR's cap for only picks in return.

Then can then clear Harris into OKC's cap by using some of the picks they get for Ben.

Then they can sign Harden outright leaving BKN with ZERO.

OKC has no cap space in the summer. Get your facts right.

Do you ever get tired of being wrong? I understand desperation is setting in, but this is sad

OKC has $75M committed next season, which includes Kemba's $28M dead cap.

Which leaves them over $40M in cap room. More than enough to take Simmons or Harris.

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/yearly/cap/

Does that 75 million include Derek Favor’s 10 million dollar contract that he’ll certainly opt into and the team options? That number also doesn’t include the caphold for the first round picks OKC has next season. Which is to say that no they don’t have 40 million in cap room. Probably about half of that.

[DusterBuster]

I like how Sixers fans think they can just offload $76mil from their salary cap in the offseason to sign Harden. You'd have to gut the team.
No one is taking the Harris contract unless they include Curry, Maxey or Thybulle and picks.
Same with Simmons, you'd have to include picks and another player or 2 for a team to take on that contract, plus the other teams would know Philly are desperate, so they'd be getting fleeced.

Yeah, then you can sign Harden, but you'd have no draft picks for a long time and Embiid/Harden would be playing with the sort of players that the Nets have been using lately. Plus, Embiid will get injured and Harden will go missing in the playoffs anyway.

As a Blazer fan with a team that recently opened up a lot of cap space and a star player who's openly said he wants to play with Simmons, I can guarantee you the bolded statement is 100% wrong.