The Houston Rockets and Philadelphia 76ers have not held substantive discussions regarding a James Harden trade despite Harden indicating he would be open to a move to Philadelphia, sources told ESPN's Tim MacMahon and Adrian Wojnarowski.
An agreement between the Rockets and 76ers may be difficult to reach. Houston is reportedly seeking a young franchise star in negotiations for Harden, plus multiple first-round picks or players still on their rookie deals.
The 76ers possess two franchise stars in Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. However, new team president Daryl Morey, who left the Rockets this offseason after 13 years as their general manager, implied in November that he had no intention of trading either player and said he believes they can lead the franchise to a title together.
Philadelphia was first reported to be on Harden's list of desired trade destinations in November. The 2018 MVP apparently then shifted his focus to the Brooklyn Nets and rejected a lucrative contract extension offer from Houston.
However, talks with the Nets were reportedly unproductive, and sources told ESPN that Harden has suggested he'd be open to a trade to other contenders, including the 76ers.
After missing multiple practices, Harden finally reported to Rockets training camp Tuesday and underwent COVID-19 testing at the Toyota Center, a source told Wojnarowski. Houston's camp opened earlier in December but Harden remained absent, and new head coach Stephen Silas said Monday that he believed there was "no timetable" for his arrival.
