James Harden is on the move. Again. After reports of him wanting a trade to the Philadelphia 76ers, Harden appears to have gotten his wish.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Harden is heading to the Sixers in exchange for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, and two first-round draft picks.
Reports of Harden wanting a trade began to surface on social media. The rumors found their way to Instagram. The sports news source, “The Score” made a post about the rumors on their Instagram page. It was also reported that though Harden wanted out, he didn’t want to make a formal request out of fear of backlash for wanting a trade in consecutive seasons. Interestingly, Kevin Durant gave the post a like.
This marks the second time Harden has been traded mid-season in as many years. Last year, he had created some drama about his situation in Houston. To show he wanted out, he wore a fat suit during shoot arounds with the Rockets before the trade finally happened that sent him to Brooklyn.
The Nets went all in to try and land Harden last year and add him to an already impressive roster that featured Durant and Kyrie Irving, giving up three first-round draft picks, Caris LeVert, Jarrett Allen, Taurean Prince and Rodions Kurucs in the process. In the end, the three superstars only played a total of 16 games together. There were even reports of Harden having issues with Irving not being available for home games due to him not receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.
On the other side of the deal, Simmons has not stepped on the court once this year. He requested a trade from Philadelphia in the offseason, saying that he didn’t feel supported by the Sixers after struggling in the playoffs. Earlier this season, he had said that he didn’t feel mentally ready to play for the Sixers.
