There were reports that surfaced on Thursday that the Philadelphia 76ers could be open to dealing Ben Simmons in a trade for James Harden.
Despite the recent reports, Daryl Morey—the president of basketball operations of the Sixers—denies that Philadelphia is looking to trade Simmons, per The Athletic's Shams Charania.
In response, 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey tells @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium: “We are not trading Ben Simmons — he is an important part of our future.” https://t.co/W6T7HQjjoP
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 18, 2020
Harden was absent at the beginning of training camp with the Houston Rockets, having been caught partying in Las Vegas and Atlanta. The three-time NBA leading scorer has requested a trade from the Rockets and despite returning to the team recently, he's still not interested in remaining in Houston long-term.
Also, even though the Rockets acquired John Wall to give him an All-Star teammate, Harden would still prefer to be traded elsewhere. Ever since his trade request was discovered, the Sixers were immediately considered a possible landing spot.
Of course, Morey—who was the president of basketball operations of the Rockets during Harden's time in Houston—is aware of how talented Harden is. However, Morey has also shown a willingness to see how well the duo of Simmons and Joel Embiid can be under new head coach, Doc Rivers.
One of the main reasons why Houston hasn't dealt Harden yet is due to them wanting a hefty return for the eight-time All-Star. If the Sixers would want to negotiate a deal for Harden, they would likely need to include either Simmons or Embiid. But seeing how Morey feels about the potential of Simmons, it's highly unlikely that Simmons is traded any time soon.
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