The Houston Rockets and James Harden drama has been the talk of the town lately, with the All-NBA guard's future in H-Town in serious peril. Harden reportedly skipped out on the Rockets' first day of training camp. This could be the smoke signal that he is looking to check out of Houston, with recent news that he's open to joining the Philadelphia 76ers.
The 8-time All-Star initially expressed concerns over the Rockets' direction as a franchise and reportedly cited the Brooklyn Nets as a potential trade destination, should Houston look to move him. Now, just prior to training camp, The Beard has reportedly added the Philadelphia 76ers into the mix as potential landing spot. This would reunite him with ex-Rockets GM Daryl Morey, whom the Sixers hired as their president of basketball operations this offseason.
The Rockets would likely want to get a star in return for their franchise cornerstone. For the Sixers, it would likely take one of Joel Embiid or Ben Simmons to get any kind of deal done for the 2017-18 NBA MVP. But before we get started with anything else, if the Philly somehow gets Houston to agree to a Harden deal without including the one of the two All-Stars, then by all means pull the damn trigger.
However, if the Rockets' asking price involves Embiid or Simmons (which it should from their standpoint), the Sixers should make a stand and absolutely stay away from any Harden trade that involves them parting ways with one of the two young studs.
There's no doubt the 3-time scoring champ is currently the best player among the three right now and has cemented himself as one of the 5 best players in the league. However, Embiid and Simmons could both potentially reach that point within just a year or two.
Age plays a huge factor in this discussion as well. Harden, 31, arguably has limited prime years remaining. Meanwhile, Embiid, 26, and Simmons, 24, have not even reached their respective primes yet and could still get a lot better for years to come. It wouldn't be worth it for the Sixers to trade a potential 5 to 7 year championship window for just a 3-year run with Harden at the helm.
Embiid and Simmons are both capable of being franchise cornerstones. Many have suggested that the two may not be the most compatible pairing on the court together and that Philly should considering splitting the two. However, getting two superstar-caliber studs, both within the same timeline, is a rarity in the NBA.
The Sixers are lucky to have two legitimate stars that could both become top-10 players in the league someday. Philly should keep them together for as long as they can. Despite coming off a disappointing 2019-20 campaign, there's no reason for them to hit the panic button as early as now. Not even a deal for James Harden should make them consider splitting this potentially special duo.
You just don't break that up without even seeing how they could look with a better suited supporting cast. That's why Embiid and Simmons are the franchise building blocks. Make the changes around the edges and not with the pillars. With a new front office and coaching staff, the Sixers did just that by acquiring Seth Curry and Danny Green to address their most glaring concern: shooting.
As the signature saying in Philly goes, they should continue trusting the process and see how this better-fitted roster around Embiid and Simmons looks like this upcoming season. Trading Embiid or Simmons for Harden would be robbing them of the opportunity.
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