Philadelphia 76ers should pounce on James Harden opportunity

The Philadelphia 76ers should pursue James Harden without reservation — today.

James Harden has made his desire to leave Houston plain as day. He missed the first few days of training camp on a nightlife odyssey, with appearances in Atlanta and Las Vegas while his teammates in Houston prepared for the season. Harden was absent in the Rockets’ first preseason game on Friday, and the tenuous relationship between him and the Rockets brass will only get worse.

Houston has time on its side. Harden has two years left on his contract, and the Rockets have no obligation to trade him. That said, a move seems inevitable, and Harden has graciously expanded his list of preferred destinations to speed up the process. That list includes the Philadelphia 76ers.

While Harden also named Brooklyn, Milwaukee, and Miami as agreeable landing spots, the Sixers are considered favorites — even if the front office is currently reluctant to trade Ben Simmons.

The Sixers have publicly stated their desire to see the current group on the floor under Doc Rivers. Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons are a historically productive duo, and with a new head coach in charge, why not see what the 26-year-old and 24-year-old All-Stars can do together?

Simmons is also under contract for five years. He will spend his prime in Philadelphia if the Sixers will it so. He has plenty of room to grow, and the Sixers are in position to compete in the East with only minor tweaks to the current roster. Philadelphia isn’t under pressure to deal Simmons.

That said, the Sixers are still on the outskirts of title contention. Milwaukee, Miami, Boston, Toronto, and Brooklyn are probably favorites over Philadelphia if the postseason started tomorrow. The Sixers should look a great deal better this season, but without a reliable closer, there are still questions about how this group will execute down the stretch of close games.

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While Philadelphia can win a championship with Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, the path ahead is rocky. The Sixers are short on assets and cap space. Tobias Harris is a negative-value trade asset, and the Sixers’ batch of young talent — Matisse Thybulle, Tyrese Maxey, and Shake Milton — is unexciting in the broader landscape of NBA teams.

The Sixers can finesse their way to more ball-handlers, and perhaps someone like Victor Oladipo eventually becomes available. But at the end of the day, true needle-movers are few and far between. The Sixers bungled the Jimmy Butler trade, but James Harden is a different beast. He breaks the needle.

Daryl Morey and Elton Brand should offer Ben Simmons for James Harden today, tomorrow — ASAP. There’s no need to wait. There’s no need to “see how things look” under Doc Rivers. Harden is one of the five best players in basketball, a perennial MVP candidate, and arguably the greatest scorer in modern history.

Rarely do MVPs become available in their prime. Even rarer are MVPs who have expressed interest specifically in Philadelphia. This isn’t a reboot of the Anthony Davis situation. Harden seems willing to consider multiple smaller markets (a.k.a., not New York or Los Angeles), and Philadelphia is at the top of that list.

Harden is both an upgrade in talent and fit over Ben Simmons. In fact, it’s unlikely Simmons ever scrapes the ceiling of what Harden has done in the NBA. He hasn’t won a championship, but when the Warriors dynasty was at its peak, the Rockets were the only true challenger.

The Sixers have the opportunity to pair two of the NBA’s top 10 players in Harden and Embiid. The Sixers also have the opportunity to make life easier for Embiid, who has struggled with health and durability as Philadelphia’s only reliable offensive engine in the halfcourt. Harden would lift a burden from Embiid’s shoulders, and quite possibly prolong his prime as a result.

Harden is on contract for two more years, with a third-year player option worth $47.3 million he will likely decline. The Sixers would risk losing Harden after two years, but frankly, two years of Harden and Embiid has a greater chance of yielding a championship than five more years of Embiid and Simmons. You have to maximize the title window around Embiid, whose future is more volatile and uncertain than the average superstar. This trade is not one the Sixers should have to think hard about.

The Sixers would be able to offer Harden upwards of $50 million per season on his next contract — more than any other team. Even if he doesn’t commit to re-signing on day one, two competitive seasons next to Embiid and a super-max offer could persuade Harden to stick around long-term. Whether such a contract ages well is a bridge to cross when it comes.

Harden is an eight-time All-Star and seven-time All-NBA player. He won MVP in 2018, and was runner-up on multiple occasions. He averaged 34.3 points and 7.5 assists per game last season despite Russell Westbrook eating into possessions. This is no knock on Ben Simmons, who is a tremendously gifted player: you take James Harden when you can get him.

No team reportedly in the running for Harden can beat a package built around Ben Simmons. If the Sixers don’t trade for Harden, they may also have to contend with him on a team like Brooklyn, Miami, or Milwaukee — all but shutting the door on Philadelphia’s chances of winning the East in the near future. Morey should be making phone calls as we type/read.