The Philadelphia 76ers are the "most likely destination" for a trade involving James Harden, according to NY Times NBA reporter Marc Stein.
The trade, according to Stein, seems to be centered around a deal that would almost certainly involve Ben Simmons.
"The Rockets insist (for now) they will not trade Harden," Stein wrote in a follow up tweet. "The Sixers insist (for now) they will not trade Ben Simmons. But sources say the familiarity between the front offices can ultimately defuse any lingering tension from Daryl Morey's departure from Houston to Philadelphia."
Harden reportedly recently added Philadelphia—along with the Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, and Brooklyn Nets—to his trade destination list.
Harden, 31, is an eight-time all-star, six-time All-NBA first teamer, and 2018 Most Valuable Player. Harden is set to make over $40 million in each of the next two seasons before a 2022-23 player option for $47.3 million kicks in.
New Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey—who of course acquired Harden in a blockbuster trade while he was running the Houston Rockets' front office—has talked this offseason about his desire to keep both Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.
On November 24th, Morey told 94WIP's Jon Marks & Ike Reese that he believes the Sixers are title contenders.
"Yeah, I do think this is a team that can contend," Morey said. "I like that, teams are—feels like we're coming from the underdog part of it. You don't have to go back about one year—towards the end of the season the Sixers were forecasted to be right there with Milwaukee in the East and everyone obviously did not play quite as well as that. I prefer to be in this spot, where everyone thinks we're like the sixth best team in the East and we'll shock people. So, I'm excited for that."
From a Houston standpoint, the Rockets just traded Russell Westbrook for John Wall to pair with Harden. Adrian Wojnarowski previously reported, "The Rockets have been adamant that they will not be rushed into trading Harden." However, if Harden is unhappy in Houston—and it appears he is—they will not find a better asset in return than a 24-year-old two-time all-star and former rookie of the year, in Simmons.
For Morey, Elton Brand, Doc Rivers and the Sixers the question is a risk-reward one. Give up one of the league's best long term assets in Simmons to create arguably the best guard-big man duo in the NBA with Harden and Joel Embiid and try to win a championship immediately? Sacrifice future upside for the immediate pursuit of a title? It's certainly a tough one that is surely keeping the Sixers' brass up at night.