It’s pretty evident that the James Harden drama with the 76ers isn’t going to end quickly. Or maybe at all.
Per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Sixers are not receiving anything close to what they would like in a deal for Harden — who reportedly joined (or is set to join) the rest of the team for training camp in Colorado Springs, Colo.
The Clippers are the team most linked to Harden, and they have indeed spoken to the Sixers recently, per sources. But no deal was close as of Wednesday morning.
“There’s not a trade out there that keeps the Sixers in championship contention this season,” Wojnarowski said on NBA Today.
“The difference between the Harden situation and the Ben Simmons‘ situation a couple of years ago is there were a lot of possible deals out there for Ben Simmons. You would measure them. You would look at them. What they could get. Teams in both conferences had interest in Ben Simmons.
“This is different. There’s not widespread interest in James Harden. The Clippers are the most motivated team to give up at least a first-round pick in this. Or potentially, let’s say, a pick swap. I’m not saying they’ve offered that in this.
“The Clippers are the most win-now team. They’ve needed to solidify that lead guard position. At the same time, the Clippers are not in a position to gut all their assets for the future… They also know ‘We don’t want to bid against ourselves.’ The Sixers don’t have anything else. The Knicks talked to the Sixers early on in this thing, but there’s no great motivation for the Knicks to do a one-year rental for James Harden.”
Harden to the Clippers? Or anywhere but the Sixers? It seems as if that may be a ways off.
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