76ers' Daryl Morey on James Harden Rumors: 'We Are Not Trading Ben Simmons'
Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey squashed any rumors of star guard Ben Simmons being traded for Houston's James Harden on Thursday.
"We are not trading Ben Simmons—he is an important part of our future," Morey told Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.
That followed reports from both Charania and ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski earlier on Thursday that Simmons had been included in trade talks for Harden.
Additionally, Sam Amick of The Athletic reported Thursday that Philly was essentially taking a wait-and-see approach to any potential trades as it evaluates how Simmons and Joel Embiid look under new head coach Doc Rivers and a revamped roster around them:
"Sources say the Sixers want to see what new coach Doc Rivers can do with this new roster and have no urgency to pay anything more than a discount-aisle price for Harden anytime soon. Translation: Two-time All-Star and third-team All-NBA selection Ben Simmons remains off-limits, and these next few weeks will be spent evaluating this revamped group.
"They're legitimately excited and optimistic about what these changes might bring. And while nothing could match the Morey-Harden affection levels, it's clear the Sixers have not fallen out of love with Simmons. The patience in Philly on the Harden front is born out of that fact."
Patience makes sense. Simmons is just 24 and hasn't reached his ceiling. Whether that ceiling is anywhere close to the level a former MVP like Harden has reached remains to be seen (and is likely contingent on Simmons becoming a more impactful scorer).
If Embiid, Simmons and a new roster look capable of making a title run this year or in the near future, why swap the two-time All-Star—who is already one of the league's best passers and most versatile defenders—for a player seven years older?
The Sixers can also remain patient even if they covet Harden because it's unlikely many teams could either beat an offer headlined by Simmons or would want to do so. Waiting presents a win-win for Philly—Morey and Rivers can fully evaluate the Embiid-Simmons pairing for themselves while playing the waiting game to see if Houston's trade demands lower.
It's unlikely that Harden is going to soften his stance about wanting a trade the longer he remains in Houston. Quite the opposite—the longer this drags on, the more toxic the situation could become. Keeping an unhappy superstar only works for so long before the situation becomes untenable.
A team like the Sixers could wait until that theoretical tipping point, hoping it forces the Rockets to take a less hardball approach to trade talks (and perhaps forces the Rockets to consider trade packages that don't include Simmons, though that seems highly unlikely barring some of the Sixers young players making giant leaps this season).
Granted, if other teams around the NBA believe the Sixers are willing to part with Simmons, their own trade packages for Harden might improve, hoping to entice the Rockets into a deal before Philly is willing to pull the trigger.
And Simmons and his camp surely won't be thrilled if he's actually been floated in negotiations. Houston's leverage in a deal with the Sixers suddenly increases if Simmons is unhappy, too. So there's a lot going on right now. For the time being, however, Simmons is staying put.
