Philadelphia 76ers: 3 reasons not to trade Ben Simmons for James Harden

There are three really good reasons why the Philadelphia 76ers shouldn’t trade Ben Simmons for James Harden.

It was recently reported that the Philadelphia 76ers were willing to included star playmaker Ben Simmons in a deal for superstar James Harden. Sixers’ president of basketball operations Daryl Morey quickly dispelled that notion, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Still, the rumor is out there now and while it appears to be false, it brings up an interesting debate. Until Harden is traded from Houston, 76ers fans will continue to debate whether trading Simmons for Harden is the best choice for the franchise.

I’m of the opinion that Philly shouldn’t deal for Simmons for Harden. I briefly wrote about it in the past and I even came up with an alternative trade package from the Sixers that didn’t involve Simmons. With that being said, there are three clear reasons why the 76ers shouldn’t trade Simmons for Harden.

3 reasons not to trade Simmons for Harden: Simmons’ upside can’t be ignored

Right now, Ben Simmons is somewhere between a top-15 or top-20 player in the NBA. He can literally do just about do everything on the court at a high level. He can defend, pass, rebound, and finish at an elite level, but people still harp on the one thing he won’t do, which is shooting the ball.

It’s not that he can’t shoot, he’s proven when he wants to, he can make outside shots. It’s an unwillingness to take outside jumpers. That unwillingness to shoot the ball keeps the All-Defensive team player from becoming a top-5 player in the NBA.

Simmons is still only 24-years-old and has a long time to get over this mental hurdle. Assuming he can eventually, he has the potential to become the face of the NBA for years to come. Obviously, that’s only a what-if scenario, so let’s deal with the known variables.

Simmons is much younger than Harden, by seven years to be exact. At 31-years-old, Harden has played 833 regular season games and 28,589 regular season minutes. Obviously, those minutes and games increase in the playoffs. Harden has played so much already in his career, there’s a good chance he starts to decline in the next two or four seasons.

There’s no fear of decline with Simmons. While Harden might open the championship window for the Sixers wider than Simmons can right now, Simmons provides Philly a much longer title contention window than Harden ever could. Giving up a player with Simmons upside just for a slightly better chance to win a title for the next two or three seasons isn’t worth it for Philly.