Joel Embiid on James Harden Trade Rumors with 76ers, Nets: 'I Don't Know What's True'

Philadelphia 76ers superstar center Joel Embiid commented Monday on rumors that the Sixers are pursuing Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden ahead of Thursday's NBA trade deadline.

Appearing on the Mike Missanelli Show on 97.5 The Fanatic (h/t SNY's Garrett Stepien), Embiid said:

"I mean, I don't know. I haven't heard anything, but I've seen the stuff coming out. I mean, he plays for the Brooklyn Nets. There's nothing I can do about that. And like I said, I love all my teammates. But that's like you asking me a question like, 'Would you love playing with Steph Curry?' Obviously, the top players, they all make each other better. And he's in that category of just being able to—and he's gotten close before. He's gotten to the conference finals, he's gotten close to making it to the (NBA) Finals.

"But that's something I really can't comment about because he plays for another team and it's not realistic. And to me, we all see the same thing on the internet. And I don't know what's true and what's not. But I do believe that, with the guys we have and my teammates, I do believe that we have a chance together. But like I said, it's going to take all of us to play at the highest level possible to be able to compete."

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported last week that the Sixers are expected to pursue Harden before the deadline, adding that the Nets are open to talking about a package that includes guard Ben Simmons.

The Sixers' reported interest in Harden comes as little surprise since 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey was the Houston Rockets general manager when Harden enjoyed the best seasons of his career in Houston.

Morey acquired Harden from the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2012 and allowed him to be the Rockets' go-to player. That led to eight All-Star selections, eight playoff appearances, three scoring titles and one NBA MVP award in Harden's eight full seasons with the Rockets.

In a follow-up to Charania's report, however, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne reported that Morey and Nets general manager Sean Marks had a discussion one month ago in which Marks shot down the idea of trading Harden.

Wojnarowski and Shelburne added that Morey and Marks haven't engaged in any trade talks since then.

A lot has changed over the past month, however, including the fact that the Nets are just 5-11 since Jan. 9. Kevin Durant has missed the past 11 games with a knee injury, and in those games, Brooklyn is 2-9.

The Nets are in the midst of an ugly eight-game losing streak that has dropped them to 29-24 overall and seventh in the Eastern Conference.

That would suggest the Nets could be open to making some changes, but trading Harden would be a significant one given that he was acquired from the Rockets last season in an effort to form a "Big 3" with Durant and Kyrie Irving.

With Durant out and Irving only able to play in games in cities without vaccine mandates such as those enforced in New York, Harden has been left to carry the load by himself at times this season.

The 32-year-old veteran's numbers look good on the surface with 22.5 points, 10.2 assists, 8.0 rebounds and 2.3 three-pointers made per game, but his 41.4 percent field goal percentage is the second-worst mark of his career and his 33.2 percent conversion rate from beyond the arc is a career worst.

One can only assume he would be a fantastic fit in Philadelphia, though, due to the presence of Morey and the fact that he would be teaming up with Embiid, who would be an ideal inside complement to Harden's outside skills.

One thing that could push the Nets to trade Harden is the fact that he has a player option for next season, and Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer has reported Harden is not completely happy in Brooklyn.

Trading him to Philly would at least help the Nets land a three-time All-Star in Simmons and some more pieces to boot.

Such a trade would also make the Sixers—who are fifth in the Eastern Conference and only two games out of first— serious contenders to represent the East in the NBA Finals, which is something they haven't done since 2001.