3 reasons not to trade Simmons for Harden: Harden’s personality and impact on culture.
When Philadelphia fired Brett Brown as their head coach this offseason, it was because of a lack of accountability in the locker room. According to Tim MacMahon of ESPN, Harden was the epicenter of the lack of accountability in the Rockets organization. The organization gave him way too much power and freedom for years which resulted in poor culture.
It’s certainly fair that Harden had some perks of being a superstar in Houston, but the amount of power he had was unbelievable. According to the report previously mentioned, Harden had input personal decisions such as players and coaches. The only player that should have that type of power is LeBron James, who is one of the best in NBA history.
Not only that, but Harden partied a lot, which in itself isn’t horrendous, but based on what was reported it was certainly excessive to say the least. Apparently, he was late for transportation and team activities (such as film sessions). There is just a lack of professionalism that has permeated from Harden during his tenure with the Rockets.
All this happened under the watch of Morey, who was in charge of Houston before coming to Philly this offseason. If Harden comes to the 76ers, who’s to say that he wouldn’t ruin the culture of accountability that head coach Doc Rivers is trying to build. He would have a good chance of doing so with Morey there, as more has expressed his affinity for Harden in the past.
Then there’s the impact of Harden’s behaviors on Joel Embiid and the team’s young players. Embiid has struggled with accountability in the past and if he has an apathetic teammate like Harden, it wouldn’t be surprising if Embiid didn’t stay in shape or engaged if Harden were to arrive.
Harden wouldn’t be good for Philly’s culture so it might not be worth upgrading to Harden over Simmons.