Amind nonstop trade rumors, and with his contract set to expire, Brooklyn Nets star James Harden and his manager have been looking to partner with an agent to help him assess his options, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne.
The agent could help Harden navigate free agency this summer, work with Brooklyn on a sign-and-trade after the season, or help find a deal for the 10-time All-Star ahead of Thursday's deadline, note Wojnarowski and Shelburne.
On Sunday, Nets head coach Steve Nash adamantly denied that the franchise will ship Harden away this week. However, 76ers president Daryl Morey and team minority owner Michael Rubin both reportedly believe Harden has interest in playing with Philadelphia.
Both men have long-standing ties to the three-time scoring champion. While serving as the Rockets' general manager, Morey brought Harden to Houston in a 2012 trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Rubin has reportedly been close friends with the 32-year-old for several years.
Harden has operated without a full-time agent in recent years as he's essentially guaranteed a max contract. However, he did enlist two representatives from Wasserman Media Group when he requested a trade away from the Rockets in 2020. That partnership reportedly ended in March 2021, just two months after they helped facilitate the four-team trade that sent Harden to Brooklyn.
The 76ers' simplest path to acquiring Harden would be a midseason trade with the Nets that would almost certainly send frustrated star Ben Simmons to Brooklyn. In order to make a run at Harden as a free agent next summer, the 76ers would have to offload millions of dollars in salary to free up a max contract or try to convince the Nets to work together on a sign-and-trade.
