3 reasons not to trade Simmons for Harden: Harden doesn’t guarantee a championship
It’s fair to say at this point that James Harden is one of the best individual scorers in NBA history. He has three scoring titles and has scored at least 30 points per game the past three seasons. Yet, pairing him with the likes of Joel Embiid wouldn’t guarantee a title for the Philadelphia 76ers.
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In all reality, it wouldn’t even guarantee that the Sixers would come out of the Eastern Conference playoff bracket. The duo of Embiid and Harden is interesting, but there’s no guarantee they would mesh well together.
Harden has already played with a future Hall of Fame center in Dwight Howard when Howard was still in his prime and didn’t accomplish much. Harden has also played with two players who are arguably better than Embiid in Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook while in Houston and still couldn’t get the job done.
It could be argued that Embiid would only be the third best player Harden played within his prime (can’t count Kevin Durant with the Oklahoma City Thunder). Despite the East being a weaker conference than the West, there are still some elite teams at the top.
The Brooklyn Nets have Durant and Kyrie Irving, the Milwaukee Bucks have Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, and Jrue Holiday, the Boston Celtics have Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and when healthy Kemba Walker, and the Miami Heat are the reigning champions of the East with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.
The East is stronger than it has been in recent years and a combo of Harden and Embiid wouldn’t guarantee that Philly wins the conference. If not a solid belief that the Sixers are the favorites to win the East if you trade Simmons for Harden, then why do it in the first place? The simple answer is you don’t if you’re the 76ers.
There are some major downsides to consider when it comes to the Philadelphia 76ers potentially trading Simmons for Harden. As of right now, the risk doesn’t seem worth it.