Report: Harden Lists Philly As Top Destination

By Kevin McCormick, Sports Talk Philly Editor

Monday afternoon the NBA's trade window has officially opened, and things are starting to heat up. Now that Chris Paul has been traded, the next sweepstakes look to be for James Harden.

The Rockets' star looks like he could be on the move. Shams Charania of The Athletic has reported that Harden wants to be moved to a contender, and the Sixers are on his shortlist of top landing spots.

Rockets star James Harden wants to be on a contender elsewhere, and Brooklyn and Philadelphia are believed to be his top desired trade destinations, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.

Houston is fully comfortable keeping Harden and Russell Westbrook into the season.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 16, 2020

Since the arrival of Daryl Morey in Philadelphia, the rumors of Harden to the Sixers continue to swirl. This move could instantly make the Sixers are title favorites, but could come at a steep price.

Acquiring a former MVP with limited assets is going to be a tall task for Morey and the Sixers' front office. Realistically is this move is going to get done the Sixers are going to have to part ways with Ben Simmons.

Brooklyn has a lot more interesting pieces they could throw into a trade, but if Philly were to offer Simmons it might sway the odds in their favor. The question is if acquiring Harden is worth trading away Ben Simmons at just 24 years old.

If the Sixers want to push all their chips in, this is the move to do it. Using up every possible asset to pair harden with Embiid and Simmons would cause issues in the long-term, but could lead to a dynasty in the short-term.

Since his introductory press conference, Morey has seemed firm on moving forward with Embiid and Simmons. Between that and the steep price tag the Rockets will have on Harden, this is going to be a tough pairing to get done. But Morey has traded for Harden once, maybe he can pull a rabbit out of the hat once more.