Although James Harden hasn’t backed off the trade request he made in June, there’s no indication that the Sixers are on the verge of dealing the former MVP, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne said during an appearance on NBA Today on Tuesday (YouTube link).
“(Harden and the Sixers) have spoken again, and he still reiterated he wants to be traded,” Shelburne said. “Now, this isn’t a demand, it’s a request. I think the Sixers have said, ‘Okay, we will try to trade you,’ but there is no hurry to do this. I think the Sixers understand that they have the leverage here. James has picked up his option… He’s going to be a free agent after this season, so at some point he needs to play, whether that’s in Philadelphia or elsewhere.”
The situation in Philadelphia, as Shelburne portrays it, isn’t acrimonious. While Harden would prefer to play elsewhere, it’s not necessarily a sure thing that he’ll be wearing another uniform when the 2023/24 season begins.
“There is a sense that if they can give it some time – and he’s cool with his teammates, he’s been talking to Joel Embiid, he’s been talking to Patrick Beverley, P.J. Tucker – that eventually maybe those fences can be mended, and there is a path to reconciliation with James Harden,” Shelburne said. “But for now, he has reiterated his trade request.”
Here are a few more trade-related items from around the NBA:
- In the latest episode of his Howdy Partners podcast (YouTube link; hat tip to The Smoking Cuban), ESPN’s Tim MacMahon said he has “heard some rumblings” about the Mavericks circling back to Pistons forward Bojan Bogdanovic, who was linked to Dallas prior to the draft. MacMahon cautions that he’s not sure the Mavs have the assets to land Bogdanovic, given Detroit’s high asking price, and suggests Dallas’ priority may be to trade for a starting-caliber center.
- According to Jake Madison of Locked on Pelicans (Twitter link), Chris Haynes of TNT said on a TV broadcast last Friday that league executives got the sense this offseason that Pelicans forward Zion Williamson could be had “for the right situation and the right package.” However, sources have told Zach Lowe of ESPN (Insider link) that New Orleans wasn’t prepared to “pivot away” from Williamson on draft day, and ESPN’s Andrew Lopez said in the latest Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link) that the Pelicans’ trade offers for the No. 2 and No. 3 picks in this year’s draft were heavily based around future picks, not players.
- Within that same ESPN.com story, Lowe says he hasn’t heard compelling evidence that a “sensible” trade was available for the Trail Blazers with the No. 3 overall pick last month. The Nets never showed any interest in giving up Mikal Bridges for a package based around the No. 3 pick and Anfernee Simons, according to Lowe, who says the Heat “chuckled” at the idea of Portland asking for Bam Adebayo. The Raptors also weren’t ready to move off of Pascal Siakam or OG Anunoby as of draft day, Lowe adds, though it’s unclear if the Blazers would have moved the No. 3 pick in a deal for either player.
MacMahon’s pod suggested that the Mavs aren’t a plausible fit for Bogdanovic and it did not sound like there is anything going on in current trade discussions for him, but The Smoking Cuban/HoopsHype took it out of context.
It looks like the Blazers were desperate to get the players Dame wanted to come there instead of vice versa.
I don’t buy that TOR wouldn’t trade Siakam or Anunoby for the 3rd overall pick (Scoot essentially), though I do believe the last part (that there’s no indication that POR would have accepted either guy for the pick). Pretty clear that the teams didn’t reach the offer stage, but its hard to imagine that TOR was discussing a deal with POR for #3 while unwilling to part with Siakam or Anunoby. NOP at least has a bunch of FRPs (although POR was pretty clear they were looking for players, not lesser picks).
BKN I believe, as they have non-basketball (as well as basketball) reasons to not trade Bridges, particularly for future assets, even one as juicy as #3 in this draft.
OG for #3 (Henderson) and Simons … maybe, but Siakam would need more than those two guys. Everyone values what they have higher than others, but Siakam has established himself (2x All NBA, 2x All-star, NBA Champion). While Henderson and Simons may have high ceilings, neither team was willing to risk the gain / loss on the projected future of those rookies.
Yes, every team values their guys more than other teams do, UNLESS and UNTIL they don’t, and that’s really the only time to make a trade.
I would value OG over Siakam (it’s about what the guy is going to do in the future, not what he did in the past), with neither being worth Scoot on their own. Regardless, TOR appears to indicate they were off the table, yet they were still at the table. Unlikely.
I understand that you would overvalue OG, Siakam is still in his prime at 29 and stands to have another elite 5 years, OG would have to over achieve to reach Siakam’s level
Why not trade the Mavericks Wiseman & Bojan for future 1st round picks & some of their trash contracts to match it up?
Get Harden a fanatics endorsement deal, and be done with this nonsense. No one was going to give him a 4 yr deal, at least not Max or even at 35M. Rockets probably threw out 20M.
I don’t see James rushing to leave. We have a good team, he’s familiar with the GM and a lot of the players. Yes we didn’t make the final but we still have a good side, if all he cares about is winning then take the min and sign with the Lakers, Clippers or something like that.
If it’s about the money and the fact the Sixers won’t pay you then (thank god) and why did you go into FA. Houston gave FVV and Brooks a bag each, they’d have offered you 35+ for 3 years easy.
Either way I kinda hope he stays for now.
If we were to trade him I’d love to see a deal with the clippers for PG and extras.
Something along the lines of
Harden and Tobias for PG, Morris, RoCo, Mann and a first round pick.
Clippers would look cool
Russ Harden Kawhi Tobias Zubac
Bones Powell Martin Batum Plumblee
And Sixers would look alright too
Beverly Maxey PG Tucker Embiid
Melton Mann RoCo Morris Harrell
But don’t see that happening….
Every time Harden goes to a team he ends up asking to be traded. He’s the common denominator and the obvious problem. I’m glad he’ll likely end up retiring with zero rings.