Within a Substack article about the Ben Simmons situation, veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein repeats a point that has been expressed by a number of league insiders in recent months, writing that there’s a belief the Sixers are willing to retain Simmons until the offseason in case they can use him to acquire James Harden from the Nets. Harden has a player option for 2022/23, so if he wants a change of scenery, he could either opt out and pursue a new team as a free agent or push for a trade while opting in.
According to Stein, “there is enough noise circulating leaguewide about Harden’s reported openness to relocation this summer” to convince Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey it might make sense to hang onto Simmons through the deadline.
Stein’s wording is a little convoluted, suggesting any intel on Harden’s intentions probably isn’t from a first- or even second-hand source. But the idea that the former MVP isn’t a lock to stay in Brooklyn is an intriguing one — he turned down an extension offer from the Nets prior to the season.
Still, Harden has also spoken about wanting to remain in Brooklyn for the rest of his career, and given how the NBA’s salary cap and Collective Bargaining Agreement work, his decision to forgo an extension may have been more about maximizing his future earnings rather than a desire to jump ship. The Nets’ performance in this spring’s playoffs will certainly be fascinating to follow, since both Harden and Kyrie Irving are eligible for free agency this offseason.
Here’s more on the Nets:
- The Nets have yet to offer any specific timeline for Kevin Durant‘s recovery from a left knee sprain, and Nash remained evasive today when he discussed the star forward’s status, as Brian Lewis of The New York Post writes. “I think we don’t have a timeline, and it’s also a few weeks before we reevaluate it,” Nash said. “So, right now we’re just going to wait and see how it heels and how he recovers over the next few weeks, and then there will be more of an evaluation and hopefully some sort of timeline.” Adrian Wojnarowski previously reported that a four-to-six week recovery timetable is the expectation for Durant.
- Joe Harris, who is coming off November ankle surgery, is with the Nets on their current road trip and is doing some shooting, but he won’t play during the trip, according to Nash (Twitter link via Lewis). That means Harris will remain sidelined for at least the next four games.
- After missing the Nets’ last five games due to right foot soreness, LaMarcus Aldridge is back in action on Monday, tweets Nick Friedell of ESPN.
Nets should trade Harden
Nets get Simmons, maxes, Green and 2 Firsts
76ers get Harden
Nets get 3 Firsts back
76ers can only trade 2 Firsts
Why would the Sixers give all that up? If Harden wants out in a S&T and hes choosing Philly, pretty much BS straight up unless the Nets want someone else from a 3rd team.
@Sillivan
You are vastly overstating the trade value of Simmons. Harden is currently a much better player than Simmons and certainly a much better fit for Embiid. He’s also much less expensive than Simmons. 1/$47 mil for next year vs 3/$108 mil. They can go 1 year with Harden and would have a large cap hold open up to pursue a big name in free agency.
Harden only having one year left on his current deal is exactly why trading for him shouldn’t cost the sun and the moon. Because whichever team trades for him would have to extend a max contract to a guy who will be 34 next offseason (I doubt he would settle for less and some team would be dumb enough to give it to him). Otherwise, he is a one-year rental.
At least with Simmons you know a) he’d be with the team for a few years and b) he’d still be youngish once his current deal expires so you could potentially keep him for longer. That appeals to a lot of teams, particularly those who likely couldn’t keep a star once FA would hit. But with the Nets? Probably not as much since they’ve become a FA destination. Then again, fewer and fewer elite players are reaching FA to begin with.
In the end, I don’t see this happening. But you never know.
@SheaGoodby
You know what? My apologies. I misread @Sillvans post. I thought he was suggesting the other way around. With a few grammatical mistakes and not being thorough I misunderstood him.
@Sillivan
You are vastly overstating the trade value of Simmons. Harden is currently a much better player than Simmons and certainly a much better fit for Embiid. He’s also much less expensive than Simmons. 1/$47 mil for next year vs 3/$108 mil. They can go 1 year with Harden and would have a large cap hold open up to pursue a big name in free agency. not really. he’s played in 37/42 of his team’s games this year and teams would rather have a large 1 year contract than a deal with $33 mil x 3 more years.
Best case for sixers is to wait until the off-season, harden can request sign and trade to Philly or he will have someone else facilitate nets get what they can for harden. Simmons and a first and a piece.
If harden wants to go to Philly. Why he would want to leave Durant and the nets to move to Philly is beyond me.
Hardens age,salary and injury history make a Simmons for harden trade unlikely.
If Harden is s&t for BS 76ers will be hard cap as well
Sixers can’t do a S&T for Harden unless they move Harris before hand (and don’t take back more than half his salary starting next year).
In theory, Harden could do a CP3 and opt in to his final year (going without a long term contract for a year), and then ask BKN to trade him to the Sixers. After seeing HOU try to renege on CP3, I doubt Harden takes this risk. BKN would also have to be willing to accommodate PHI because it’s not a S&T, the opt-in is final and unconditional.
#FreeBenSimmons
heals
Discussing a Harden-Simmons trade should not involve opinions of Harden or Simmons themselves. Accounting for all the hard facts is tough enough!
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That said… it should be easy too see why he may want to depart Irving, who recruited him then stays away.