Quote (Sixers @ Sep 24 2020 01:48pm)

The idea of trading Simmons for Harden should never cross your mind.

Just burn that idea and throw it away.

Quote (Madmartigan @ Sep 24 2020 02:41pm)

Daryl Morey was drooling over Ben Simmons not too long ago. James Harden is at $41M next year. You'd have to add more salary to Simmons' $30M salary next season for a successful trade to be worked out. Not too hard to add an extra $11M in salary via trade though. But Ben Simmons is also seven years younger than Harden. So we'd have to throw in future first-round picks or more cheap talent which we lack at the moment. Interesting thought for sure.

You're going to have to break up the Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons duo to land James Harden. I don't see it any other way.

Would it be Joel Embiid the Rockets end up with though? We have crap for a center right now. I love Simmons more to be honest with you. But if Embiid came to Houston then Hakeem Olajuwon can train him almost every day. In terms of size, quickness and foot work I think Embiid has a lot of Olajuwon in him already if he can ever stay healthy and hungry.

Maybe Embiid is more logical because D'Antoni likes to play small ball with shooters. He's only five year younger than James Harden. Hmm...

I just don't see a James Harden trade happening right now. We're more likely to trade Russell Westbrook. I'm all for big changes though.

Quote (Embiid @ Sep 24 2020 05:27pm)

How are the rockets gonna acquire either of them without Harden in the mix?

Rockets already unloaded anything they had to trade.

Nobody wants Westbrook.

Quote (Madmartigan @ Sep 24 2020 06:35pm)

I'm ready to see the Houston Rockets rebuild entirely. I'd feel okay if they traded both James Harden and Russell Westbrook this off-season but I'd be surprised to see both of team dealt this soon. I've got Harden going to the 76ers in a trade for Embiid. There would be other players included to make the salaries work. I don't know if the 76ers would do it, but you never know if they end up hiring Mike D'Antoni as head coach.

Of course you can just wait until James Harden becomes a free agent in a couple years. He has a player option for the 2022-2023 season but he can become a free agent after two more seasons. The Rockets will lose a lot of trade leverage by then. Harden will be 33 years old when he hits free agency. Any good trade value the Rockets can get for James Harden would likely be this off-season or the next.

Quote (Embiid @ Sep 24 2020 05:36pm)

The only sixers-rockets trade that would make sense is if we traded Tobias Harris + many picks for Harden so the rockets can recoup and start to rebuild while taking on bad contracts.

Quote (Madmartigan @ Sep 24 2020 06:37pm)

That would be a total rebuild. If we did that then I hope the Rockets hire Becky Hammon as head coach.

Quote (Embiid @ Sep 24 2020 05:36pm)

What are the rockets gonna do with Embiid but without Harden? Westbrook is honestly a worse version of Ben Simmons now lol.

Quote (Madmartigan @ Sep 24 2020 06:39pm)

Build the franchise around him and have Hakeem Olajuwon train him as much as possible. He'd be in very good hands.

Quote (Embiid @ Sep 24 2020 05:40pm)

That's what I'm saying. You can't build around him with no assets....