Currently making rounds in the media is James Harden opening up to Houston Rockets before training camp that he is open for a trade to the Philadelphia 76ers or any other potential team, according to ESPN.
Rockets head coach Stephen Silas confirmed that the 31-year-old guard, who is the perennial MVP candidate, underwent a test for coronavirus at the Toyota Centre in Houston on Tuesday, which is part of the league’s regulation, to return for play, with reelsofjoy.com tagging him to be up for trade last season.
Once he is cleared, he will be joining the Rockets’ team training camp, which began last weekend.
Silas said: “That’s pretty much all I know. His getting tested is good for everybody.”
It was understood that Harden had previously tabled a request to be traded to the Brooklyn Nets to star alongside his former Oklahoma City Thunder pal Kevin Durant.
After confirming that no talks or negotiations were being made with the Nets, Harden asked the Rockets that he would prefer a trade to the 76ers, ESPN source claims. He also stated that he would pick other teams that fit his criteria.
The sources also confirmed that both the Rockets and Sixers are yet to hold tangible negotiations about a trade involving Harden. The New Philadelphia president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, who was the Rockets general manager for 13 seasons, says that he has no intention of breaking up the Sixers’ All-Star duo of forwarding Ben Simmons and center Joel Embiid.
Simmons, who is a third-team All-NBA pick, will be marking the first season of his five-year, $169.5 million contract extension deal. Embiid, on the other hand, who is a two-time second-team All-NBA pick, has three seasons left on his deal.
Many teams will be unwilling to immediately hand over their assets to get a player with Harden’s talent without ensuring that he would remain with the franchise when he might just opt out of his contract after seeing out the 2021/22 season. Only a few franchisees will be able to gather combos of assets to trade for Harden.
Houston remains unwavering in what they consider as a fair price for the 31-year-old guard: a price which will be including several first-round picks, talented rookie players, and a pivotal figure in a franchise, sources claimed as real money casinos give their predictions on this matter.
Several times, the Rockets have expressed their stance in the trading of Harden, claiming that they wl not be rushed regardless of how uncomfortable the situation turned out to be as the 31-year-old MVP candidate hasn’t reported to the training camp while attending parties in Las Vegas and Atlanta.