Summer possibility: James Harden to Philly, Ben Simmons to Brooklyn?

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.
Source: Marc Stein @ marcstein.substack.com

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Alex Schiffer @Alex__Schiffer
Nash going with Mills, Sharpe, Irving, Harden and Griffin with five left. Very veteran heavy. – 5:03 PM Chris Mannix @SIChrisMannix
Darius Garland vs. Harden/Irving is fun right now. – 4:57 PM Alex Schiffer @Alex__Schiffer
James Harden is back in the game. – 4:51 PM Alex Schiffer @Alex__Schiffer
End of the third quarter: Nets lead the Cavs 88-87. Kyrie Irving has taken over the game. He just dropped 14 in the third quarter and has a game-high 23. James Harden is on the Nets bench and is stretching out and tying his shoes. We’ll see if he returns. – 4:48 PM Nick Friedell @NickFriedell
Kyrie checks into the game for Harden — who is now standing on the sideline trying to keep his leg loose. Looks like a member of the Nets staff just gave him a heating pad to keep on the leg. – 4:44 PM Alex Schiffer @Alex__Schiffer
Harden subs out for Cam Thomas. He’s still on the sideline. – 4:42 PM Nick Friedell @NickFriedell
Looked like Harden took a hit on his left quad/hamstring. He’s bouncing around the floor trying to loosen it up. He’s staying in the game — will be something to keep an eye on down the stretch. – 4:41 PM Alex Schiffer @Alex__Schiffer
Harden is staying in the game. – 4:40 PM Brian Lewis @NYPost_Lewis
Harden is staying in. #Nets – 4:40 PM Alex Schiffer @Alex__Schiffer
Harden is feeling out his hip/quad area. – 4:40 PM Brian Lewis @NYPost_Lewis
James Harden comes up gimpy holding what appeared to be his left hip or leg. #Nets – 4:39 PM Alex Schiffer @Alex__Schiffer
James Harden is in pain. He’s limping. – 4:39 PM Brian Lewis @NYPost_Lewis
Now James Harden is limping. #Nets – 4:39 PM NBA Kicks @NBAKicks
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 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 Emiliano Carchia @Sportando
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 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 Alex Schiffer @Alex__Schiffer
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 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 Marc Stein @TheSteinLine
As the Sixers go for their 11th win in 13 games this afternoon at Washington … just making sure you didn’t miss the public backing Daryl Morey received over the weekend on his patient Ben Simmons trade approach from a certain Joel Embiid.
Monday column: marcstein.substack.com/p/trade-talk-o… – 1:08 PM Chad Ford @chadfordinsider
ICYMI Last Week
The trade deadline is Feb. 10.
Here’s 4 potential trades for Ben Simmons, Damian Lillard, Myles Turner & Christian Wood
That give the Sixers, Blazers, Magic, Hawks, Knicks, Rockets, Pacers and Hornets new hope.
nbabigboard.com/p/four-nba-tra… – 12:23 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 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 Ira Winderman @IraHeatBeat
76ers injury report for tonight at Heat:
Danny Green, Out, Right Hip; Pain
Shake Milton, Out, Back; Contusion
Ben Simmons, Out, Personal Reasons
Jaden Springer, Out, G League Assignment
Matisse Thybulle, Out, Right Shoulder; Soreness – 12:40 PM Sean Grande @SeanGrandePBP
Celtics at Sixers – Wells Fargo Center – Jan. 14, 2022 – Starters
Boston – Schroder, Brown, Tatum, Horford, R Williams
Philadelphia – Tyrese Maxey, Seth Curry, Furkan Korkmaz, Tobias Harris, Joel Embiid
OUT: Boston: Smart Philadelphia: Danny Green, Shake Milton, Ben Simmons pic.twitter.com/nqCV7px007 – 6:30 PM

More on this storyline

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. -via Marc Stein @ 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