It’s been more than a month since James Harden requested a trade from the Philadelphia 76ers, but the club has yet to receive an offer for their liking.
Instead of going to free agency, the perennial All-Star opted into his $35.6 million player option for 2023-24. Harden had hoped that it would help the 76ers complete a trade, but there’s no indication that the Atlantic Division club is close to making a move.
Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey proposed a massive trade idea that has the 76ers dealing Harden to the New York Knicks in a three-team deal involving the Chicago Bulls. In Bailey’s proposal, Philly would receive Bulls’ star guard Zach Lavine, while Chicago would get Knicks’ standout R.J. Barrett and draft picks:
“Among the teams highlighted to this point, New York might have the best potential offer from Philadelphia’s perspective. A pick-heavy package that includes at least one player with some potential (like RJ Barrett) could be flipped to another team for more of a win-now player.
Perhaps a team like the Chicago Bulls, who should at least be interested in a rebuild, would entertain sending Zach LaVine to the Sixers.”
The 76ers would probably rather not trade Harden within the division. Then again, they were fine giving up two-way star Ben Simmons to the Atlantic Division rival Brooklyn Nets in a package deal for Harden 18 months ago.
It’ll be hard for Philly to get equal value for Harden, but LaVine would be a nice consolation prize. At 28 years of age, he’s six years younger than Harden and could be a better fit alongside reigning MVP Joel Embiid.
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The Bulls, arguably overdue for a rebuild, would be getting a nice franchise building block in Barrett plus draft picks. Bailey’s proposal here certainly makes sense for all three teams, but of course, it remains to be seen if Philly will end up getting an offer they like for Harden.
