James Harden the Philly Savior...or not

The NBA trade deadline is here and all anyone, including the league, can think about is will James Harden be traded? There have been numerous reports that most teams are even waiting for this trade to happen - or not - before the dominos will fall around the league. This has been an interesting back and forth as it appears its evident James Harden wants out of Brooklyn and Daryl Morey desperately wants him in Philly, however Brooklyn continues to look for more than just Ben Simmons and picks. While many questioned the patience Philly showed with the Ben Simmons trade, turning down the likes of John Collins and DeAaron Fox among others, it appears to be paying off in tune with all of the Brooklyn turmoil.

Let us begin with the pros of this trade for the 76ers. At this stage in the process I believe its safe to assume both Ben Simmons will not play in Philly again and its unlikely we see James Harden play in Brooklyn again. Even if the Nets are hesitant to trade Harden, his play the last two weeks is less than desirable. The lack of effort on both ends of the floor is evident and that type of childish play can upset a lock room fast. With the team already on a massive losing skid, keeping Harden might be the worst possible thing this organization can do. Per previous reports, KD and Kyrie Irving built up a great friendship and it doesn't appear the same type of comraderies were shared with Harden. Assuming Ben Simmons never plays in Philly again, getting a bonafide all star (when he wants to be) for Simmons is an easy yes for a team rising in the Eastern Conference standings. Joel Embiid is playing at an insane MVP level and is likely the MVP leader with the all star break nearing, although Giannis and Jokic won't give up the mantle easily. This type of play is not sustainable in the playoffs and will likely lead to the team being highly dependent on young players like Matisse Thybulle and Tyrese Maxey for the playoffs. Harden brings important championship and playoff experience as well as increased attention off Embiid. While I question the relationship aspect of this pairing, they would do well on the court together if Harden buys in. Embiid handles the ball often but is not ball dominant which would allow Harden to slot in as the immediate primary ball handler. While Harden is shooting at career lows this year, it can be assumed a lot of that has to do with his effort level in Brooklyn. When at full health, Harden is a top 10 player in the league, brings much needed shooting, and that puts Philly in good position to take the East.

To say this is a risk for the 76ers is truly an understatement. While James Harden is absolutely a superstar at his best level, as you can see above all of that is contingent on his attitude and work ethic. Just this morning, it was reported that Harden wants out of the Brooklyn organization but avoided formally requesting a trade due to potential backlash from asking out of two teams in consecutive seasons. You could argue with all of the leaks and Harden's attitude the last few weeks with the team, this is heading in the direction of being about as ugly as the Houston exit. While the Houston exit was for more personal, this could be seen as more egregious considering he had two superstars (maybe 1 and a half) and the team was in fine position in the standings prior to the losing streak and Harden essentially quitting. Not to mention, even with Kyrie only playing part time - if even that - all Harden had to do was tread water until Kevin Durant came back. KD was playing at a MVP level prior to his injury and looked to be leading Brooklyn with ease.

While this is simply anecdotal, it paints a picture of what the narrative of James Harden maybe was before, and likely is moving forward. While I personally argue Houston built a good enough team around Harden to succeed, many see his exit as understandable given the status of that team down the stretch. There aren't a lot of good excuses for this exit, especially if we see KD return to form post injury without Harden there. With Harden also showing up out of shape in multiple seasons, you also have to question his discipline to this team. We have now had two seasons of underwhelming James Harden play in a row and Philly will also likely need to sign him long term to make this all worth it. Given James Harden is already 32 years old with a fleeting discipline, it's a massive risk to assume he will turn all of that around and be apart of a championship culture. Questioning James Harden's discipline has nothing to do with his work on his craft. He has great talent and an IQ for the game, however his effort level on and off the court has come in question too many times to simply push it aside. While John Collins and DeAaron Fox may not yield the same type of immediate championship impact, I also find it hard to see them causing as much wreckage that Harden has done at his last two stops.

This is an ever evolving situation however I question whether the risks for acquiring James Harden will truly be worth it. James Harden cited winning as the reason he is upset in a recent post game, however this Brooklyn team has the pieces when fully healthy and were top 5 in the Eastern Conference prior to this losing skid. At this time if you accumulate everything Houston and Brooklyn did to make James Harden happy, you have to question what it is that truly makes him happy. Brooklyn was a great place if the goal was winning and like it or not, that organization still takes a back seat to the Knicks. Where that sucks in overall coverage, it also helps in fan pressure. Philly fans expect greatness and while Embiid has seemingly perfected the relationship between super star and fan, I don't see Harden having the same success. When Harden has an ugly night, which all players do, Philly will let him hear about it and I question if he can handle that at this point in his career.