Trading for James Harden Is Not Worth It, And This Is Why
Are we trading Simmons, or are we not trading Simmons?
Ever since Rockets superstar James Harden expressed his wishes to leave Houston, teams around the league have scattered to bring him in, and the Sixers have emerged as the most likely team to make the trade. The Rockets front office doesn’t have a light asking price, however, demanding Ben Simmons and three first-round picks in exchange for their star shooting guard.
The status of Ben Simmon’s inclusion in a trade package has fluctuated day-by-day, with Daryl Morey firstly making him available in negotiations, before taking a U-turn and refusing to trade the point forward.
We are not trading Ben Simmons — he is an important part of our future.
This news from Morey may be a sigh of relief for fans —who wouldn’t want to keep an athlete as young and talented as Simmons? — but this stance on trading him could change in an instant. As the Rockets GM, Daryl made the same promise to Chris Paul, yet days later, he was traded to the Thunder for Russell Westbrook.
While fans shouldn’t completely rule out losing Simmons if a Harden deal is reached, Doc Rivers’ praise of the Aussie’s play may put a stamp of confidence on Daryl’s statement. The coach loved Simmons’ performance at the team’s second practice, and, despite what anybody else thinks, he isn’t worried about Simmons’ jumper.
Led by Doc Rivers, the Sixers team is showing great promise, and Simmons for one is a big fan of Doc’s up-tempo offensive style. This fast offense could be the key to Simmons reaching elite scoring levels, which is perfect for the team, who already benefit from his lockdown defense and crafty playmaking.
A Simmons-less future is terrifying for Sixers fans. While Harden would slot in nicely in either guard position alongside any of our backcourt players, it’s no secret that he is aging. A cold James Harden is a sore sight to see and can last for weeks on end — this may be inevitable for any player, and almost forgivable for one that usually plays at such a high caliber, but the potential of cold streaks, paired with Harden’s playstyle, isn’t what the Sixers need.
Harden is by no means a bad basketball player. He’s arguably the best scorer in the league, and (despite what some casual fans might tell you) can defend well on the perimeter when you need him to. His left-handedness makes guarding him awkward all by itself, let alone along with his sneaky handles, and it’s not an uncommon sight to see him drop 30+ points on back to back nights.
But isolation play is what defines Harden, and that simply doesn’t work with this Sixers team.
James Harden is the pioneer of iso-ball. His effortless yet complex play style, consisting of crossovers, stepbacks, and Eurosteps is back-ended by his reliance on his ball-handling skills. He does what he knows he can do best, even if it may mean that his teammates don’t touch the ball. Harden’s philosophy has sent away Chris Paul and now Russell Westbrook, and it’s clear at this point that try as they might, James Harden needs the ball in his hands 99% of the time to work.
Joel Embiid also needs the ball in his hands to work, and that’s why a trade for Harden should be off the cards.
Two players like Harden and Embiid are unlikely to survive together on the same court. The defining trait of the Simmons-Embiid partnership is the ball movement. Simmons to Embiid alley-oops and backdoor cuts are commonplace in 76ers games; this pairing is reliant on the fact that both players actively want to get the ball to each other.
The perfect center for Harden would be one that fits in a role similar to Clint Capela; a reliable player that can get on the end of James’ smart passes and finish his plays. However, Joel doesn’t fit this description at all — he can operate anywhere inside the paint, using fadeaways and drop steps to his advantage, while also a potential danger from the perimeter too.
A player like Joel can heat up very quickly, and when he does, he needs the ball in his hands, but Harden’s ball-dominant tendencies may limit Embiid’s ability to heat up and pay off for the Sixers in tight games. Harden with the Sixers may become an obstacle for Embiid’s ability to catch fire, in the long term possibly even causing the Sixers to lose Embiid — this may be the worst-case-scenario, but if it’s happened before, then what stops it from happening again?
Trading Simmons for an aging, ball-dominant James Harden is a very bad move, but with Morey’s refusal to trade Ben conflicting with the Rocket’s demands, there is no need to worry, fellow Sixers fans. It looks like Ben Simmons isn’t going anywhere.
