James Harden is done in Houston and the Rockets are “sifting through” potential offers from the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets.
Shams Charania of The Athletic is reporting that the Houston Rockets are prepared to officially move on from James Harden. The Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets are the two most likely suitors at the moment.
This entire situation came to a boiling point on Tuesday night during Harden’s postgame press conference. If it wasn’t already clear that Harden wanted out of Houston, he drilled the point home to an unmistakeable degree.
This is how James Harden walked off the podium tonight. It sounded like a farewell pic.twitter.com/fnY2h6dnHP
— Adam Spolane (@AdamSpolane) January 13, 2021
“I love this city. I’ve literally done everything I can. This situation is crazy. It’s something I don’t think can be fixed. Thanks,” Harden told the media.
According to reports, the 76ers are considering a deal that would center around Ben Simmons, Tyrese Maxey, and picks. Meanwhile, the Nets are reportedly offering four first-round picks and three pick swaps with a package of players.
For the Nets, that deal sounds an awful lot like the infamous Billy King trade that brought Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Jason Terry to Brooklyn. Even though the framework of these two deals might look similar, they are far from the same thing.
Garnett, Pierce, and Terry were in the twilight of their careers. Harden is still an MVP-caliber player when he’s motivated. The Nets are banking on the three-time scoring champ and former MVP arriving in Brooklyn with a chip on his shoulder.
It’s unclear which team has the inside track at landing Harden at the moment, but we expect a deal to come together sooner rather than later.
