Complicated is a polite description for such a deal, since the Sixers would be hard-capped by taking Harden in via sign-and-trade and would thus have to shed more salary than just Simmons’ contract according to the league’s luxury-tax rules to make it work financially. Yet it must be noted that there is enough noise circulating leaguewide about Harden’s reported openness to relocation this summer — after he turned down a lucrative extension from the Nets in October — to give Morey the encouragement he needs to wait.
Source: Marc Stein @ marcstein.substack.com
Source: Marc Stein @ marcstein.substack.com
What’s the buzz on Twitter?
Brian Lewis @NYPost_Lewis
James Harden comes up gimpy holding what appeared to be his left hip or leg. #Nets – 4:39 PM
James Harden comes up gimpy holding what appeared to be his left hip or leg. #Nets – 4:39 PM
NBA Kicks @NBAKicks
Today’s adidas Harden Vol. 6 for @James Harden! #NBAKicks pic.twitter.com/wEEu1TxMkQ – 4:07 PM
Today’s adidas Harden Vol. 6 for @James Harden! #NBAKicks pic.twitter.com/wEEu1TxMkQ – 4:07 PM
Alex Schiffer @Alex__Schiffer
Halftime: Cavs lead the Nets 65-59. Two stats that sum up the game to me: points in the paint and bench points. Nets are thin down low and on the bench. Cleveland has 28 points down low compared to 10 for BK. Bench scoring is 27-15 Cavs. Harden has 12, Mills w/11. – 4:05 PM
Halftime: Cavs lead the Nets 65-59. Two stats that sum up the game to me: points in the paint and bench points. Nets are thin down low and on the bench. Cleveland has 28 points down low compared to 10 for BK. Bench scoring is 27-15 Cavs. Harden has 12, Mills w/11. – 4:05 PM
Joe Vardon @joevardon
Halfway done here in Cleveland. Cavs lead, 65-59, behind 14 points from Darius Garland and a 27-15 advantage in bench scoring. Both teams shorthanded. James Harden has 12 for the Nets and Kyrie has nine. Points – 4:05 PM
Halfway done here in Cleveland. Cavs lead, 65-59, behind 14 points from Darius Garland and a 27-15 advantage in bench scoring. Both teams shorthanded. James Harden has 12 for the Nets and Kyrie has nine. Points – 4:05 PM
Emiliano Carchia @Sportando
Nets’ James Harden open to relocate this summer? sportando.basketball/en/nets-james-… – 3:34 PM
Nets’ James Harden open to relocate this summer? sportando.basketball/en/nets-james-… – 3:34 PM
Jason Anderson @JandersonSacBee
James Harden might be open to relocation, but there is strong belief that Dougie McCormick hopes to remain with the Sacramento Kings. pic.twitter.com/UMW6h8m1M9 – 3:19 PM
James Harden might be open to relocation, but there is strong belief that Dougie McCormick hopes to remain with the Sacramento Kings. pic.twitter.com/UMW6h8m1M9 – 3:19 PM
Alex Schiffer @Alex__Schiffer
Greetings from Cleveland. The concession lines here are out of control. Limited spots open due to the snow here. Anyway, that’s my problem, not yours. Nets-Cavs tip in half an hour. Kyrie and Harden vs. The Fro and co. Updates to follow. – 2:42 PM
Greetings from Cleveland. The concession lines here are out of control. Limited spots open due to the snow here. Anyway, that’s my problem, not yours. Nets-Cavs tip in half an hour. Kyrie and Harden vs. The Fro and co. Updates to follow. – 2:42 PM
Alex Schiffer @Alex__Schiffer
Nets starters in Cleveland: Harden, Irving, Mills, Edwards and Sharpe. – 2:35 PM
Nets starters in Cleveland: Harden, Irving, Mills, Edwards and Sharpe. – 2:35 PM
Brian Lewis @NYPost_Lewis
The #Nets will start Harden, Irving, Mills, Edwards and Sharpe today. DeAndre Bembry (back spasm) and Nic Claxton were both out vs. the #Cavaliers, but LaMarcus Aldridge was available. #NBA – 2:32 PM
The #Nets will start Harden, Irving, Mills, Edwards and Sharpe today. DeAndre Bembry (back spasm) and Nic Claxton were both out vs. the #Cavaliers, but LaMarcus Aldridge was available. #NBA – 2:32 PM
Dave Early @DavidEarly
If keeping Harden in BK this summer is contingent on BK finding a Kyrie Irving resolution (full time player or trade) then a “look take Ben Simmons for Harden if James wants to leave or take him for Kyrie if James stays” isn’t the worst plan for both teams to book mark is it? – 1:57 PM
If keeping Harden in BK this summer is contingent on BK finding a Kyrie Irving resolution (full time player or trade) then a “look take Ben Simmons for Harden if James wants to leave or take him for Kyrie if James stays” isn’t the worst plan for both teams to book mark is it? – 1:57 PM
NBA Math @NBA_Math
If our RPR MVP Predictor determined East All-Stars…
Starters
G: Trae Young
G: James Harden
F: Giannis Antetokounmpo
F: Kevin Durant
F: Joel Embiid
Reserves
G: Fred VanVleet
G: DeMar DeRozan
F: Jarrett Allen
F: Jimmy Butler
F: Jayson Tatum
WC: Zach LaVine
WC: Domantas Sabonis pic.twitter.com/JdhZVvQmeo – 10:29 AM
If our RPR MVP Predictor determined East All-Stars…
Starters
G: Trae Young
G: James Harden
F: Giannis Antetokounmpo
F: Kevin Durant
F: Joel Embiid
Reserves
G: Fred VanVleet
G: DeMar DeRozan
F: Jarrett Allen
F: Jimmy Butler
F: Jayson Tatum
WC: Zach LaVine
WC: Domantas Sabonis pic.twitter.com/JdhZVvQmeo – 10:29 AM
Alex Schiffer @Alex__Schiffer
Yesterday marked a year since James Harden’s Nets debut against Orlando. In the year that followed a lot has happened with the Nets. I tried to boil the past year of the big three era down to 10 things. Today’s story: theathletic.com/3074321/2022/0… – 10:22 AM
Yesterday marked a year since James Harden’s Nets debut against Orlando. In the year that followed a lot has happened with the Nets. I tried to boil the past year of the big three era down to 10 things. Today’s story: theathletic.com/3074321/2022/0… – 10:22 AM
More on this storyline
Winning without Simmons certainly makes it easier for Embiid to adopt that stance … and Philadelphia will be going for its 11th victory in 13 games Monday afternoon at Washington on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Perhaps he has also been sold on a concept that executives with a growing number of rival teams say they see as Morey’s new preferred scenario: Keeping Simmons beyond the trade deadline to exhaust every last possibility for executing a complicated sign-and-trade in the offseason that finally brings James Harden to Philadelphia and routes Simmons to Brooklyn. -via marcstein.substack.com / January 17, 2022
Even before those reports, Nets people who would need to be aware of Harden’s future were well aware that Philadelphia loomed as a potential suitor for the guard, SNY sources say. -via SportsNet New York / December 2, 2021
But if things go sideways in Brooklyn and Harden decides to test the market, Morey and the Sixers will almost certainly have interest. At that point, Simmons-for-Harden sign-and-trade wouldn’t seem so far-fetched. -via SportsNet New York / December 2, 2021
