Will the Brooklyn Nets trade James Harden for Ben Simmons?
The NBA trade deadline is less than a week away, and a report has indicated that the Brooklyn Nets are open to trading James Harden for Ben Simmons.
The NBA trade deadline is looming, and a report by The Athletic’s Shams Charania indicates that the Philadelphia 76ers are pursuing Brooklyn Nets star guard James Harden in exchange for Ben Simmons.
Simmons has long expressed his desire for the 76ers to trade him, reportedly sacrificing $19 million of his income in fines just so he wouldn’t have to play for the team this season. There has been an impasse between the two parties because Philadelphia refuses to trade the 25-year-old Australian for players who are not of his stature.
🏀 BREAKING: Philadelphia 76ers will pursue James Harden through a trade ahead of next week’s deadline & the Brooklyn Nets are now open to discussing a deal, according to Shams Charania.
— AS USA (@English_AS) February 4, 2022
👉 The deal would include Ben Simmons.
🤔 Thoughts?#nba #basketball pic.twitter.com/D49cVTfLFi
Nets looking to get more depth
Charania says that the Nets are “believed to be open to discussing a deal”, and the two teams may discuss the possible trade this week so as to beat the Feb. 10, 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT deadline.
He adds that the Sixers may include point guards Seth Curry and Tyrese Maxey as well as shooting guard Matisse Thybulle to sweeten the deal.
The Sixers were earlier believed to have plans to pursue Harden in the offseason, but it looks like this timetable has changed.
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The Harden-Morey connection
Harden for his part could be open to the trade as he has a relationship with Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey that developed over the years they spent together with the Houston Rockets.
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The 32-year-old is reportedly frustrated about teammate Kyrie Irving’s inability to play in home games because of his unvaccinated status. New York City has a mandate requiring people to be vaccinated to enter large indoor arenas.
The 76ers currently have a 31-20 record and are ranked third in the Eastern Conference, while the Nets have gone down to sixth at 29-22 after a six-game losing streak.