The Sixers and Nets engaged in trade talks Tuesday night, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The two sides “bickered” over pieces to add to a potential deal between James Harden and Ben Simmons.
The Nets and Sixers are in a “deal zone,” according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.
“I can’t tell you how much James Harden wants this. He is screaming in every way he possibly can ‘I don’t want to be here, get me out of here. That’s what has spurred this into being: James Harden’s basic feeling ‘I don’t want to be here anymore.’”
The Nets remain reluctant to trade Harden during the season, as they believe they’ll be fine once they get healthy despite their current nine-game losing streak, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com.
However, some people within the Nets organization are open to moving Harden now, as they believe he is hurting team chemistry, according to Pompey.
The hold up on Brooklyn’s end seems to be the Sixers’ unwillingness to include Tyrese Maxey, as the Sixers have said they will not move the talented second-year guard, Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com relays. The Sixers also aren’t planning on moving Matisse Thybulle.
Seth Curry could be going to Brooklyn in any possible package, but that may not move the Nets any closer to making a deal.
More Sixers Rumors
- The Sixers have recently had conversations with the Thunder about Tobias Harris, Pompey relays (same article). However, he believes that the Thunder were the instigators, so Harris likely has nothing to worry about.
- Philadelphia is trying to signal to Brooklyn that they’ll be able to clear cap space to sign Harden outright this summer, according to Neubeck (same article). The Sixers have a couple of teams lined up as trade partners to take on Harris’ contract, which could perhaps happen this summer.
- With all the noise surrounding the Sixers’ organization, Doc Rivers took a moment to express his understanding of what players could be going through in his postgame media session last night. “Yeah, absolutely,” Rivers said. “Especially after this year. Just because of the situation we’re in. I know our guys are NBA players and all that, but they’re human. I can’t imagine the amount of names that have been thrown in. So every single guy goes to bed tonight thinking this may be his last night. That’s tough. It really is. So, I think the biggest break we have is we have two days off. The next time we play, we’ll have our team. From a coaching standpoint, I can’t wait for that personally. I’m really looking forward to that.”
