Tobias Harris Trade Rumors: 76ers Prepared to Move PF to Sign James Harden in Summer

As the Philadelphia 76ers continue to pursue moves ahead of Thursday's trade deadline, there remains a strong likelihood they will have to wait until the offseason for a potential James Harden deal. 

Per Kyle Neubeck of the Philly Voice, the Sixers are prepared to wait until this summer to sign Harden and have "two potential suitors with cap space lined up" who they can trade Tobias Harris to in order to make the money work. 

Per Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the 76ers have had discussions with the Oklahoma City Thunder about Harris. 

"A person close to the Sixers downplayed the discussions, saying the Thunder are just one of several teams with available cap space that have inquired about taking in salary in exchange for draft picks. The person says Harris has nothing to be concerned about," Pompey wrote.

On the Jan. 11 episode of The Hoop Collective podcast (starts at 40:05 mark), The Undefeated's Marc J. Spears reported the 76ers have tried to include the 29-year-old Harris in trade talks with the Atlanta Hawks about Ben Simmons.

There has been no indication that the Hawks are even considering a deal for Simmons at this point, let alone one involving Harris. 

Per Keith Smith of Spotrac, there are only three teams that project to have cap space for the 2022-23 season:

Harden's status with the Brooklyn Nets has become one of the biggest stories in the NBA leading up to the trade deadline. He has missed five of the past seven games with hand and hamstring injuries. 

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne reported Monday that Nets general manager Sean Marks rebuffed Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey when he called about Harden on Jan. 11:

"That exchange four weeks ago represents the single, direct communication between Morey and Marks this season, sources told ESPN. However brief the conversation, messages were delivered in each direction: The Sixers planned a pursuit of Harden, and the Nets had no intention of surrender."

Harden can become a free agent this summer by opting out of the final season of his contract that will pay him $47.4 million in 2022-23. He has a long history with Morey from their time together with the Houston Rockets. 

Harris is owed $76.9 million over the final two seasons of his contract that runs through 2023-24. The power forward is averaging 19.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game in 45 starts this season. 

Philadelphia is fifth in the Eastern Conference with a 32-22 record.