It has been a rather tumultuous offseason for the Houston Rockets, and it doesn’t appear to be getting any brighter for this franchise. After parting ways with head coach Mike D’Antoni and general manager Daryl Morey in the front office, the Rockets are now dealing with potential change on the court.
Franchise cornerstone James Harden has made it known the last few days of his frustrations with the direction of the Rockets, and has expressed interest in joining a championship contender elsewhere, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania. The Brooklyn Nets have already been reported as being at the top of Harden’s desired list, and now the Philadelphia 76ers have emerged as an option for the former league MVP, per Charania.
Nothing is imminent yet as the Rockets are keen on running it back with the majority of their roster, which also includes Russell Westbrook, but that hasn’t stopped players before from forcing a team’s hand. They also reportedly have no problem keeping both stars into the season. If Brooklyn is the desired target, the Rockets could get a haul of young talent centered around Caris LeVert and future draft picks, which Houston desperately needs after trading away much of its future in acquiring Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook in the last couple years.
In terms of young talent, Brooklyn would likely return more value than Philadelphia. However, if the Sixers were ever planning on trading Ben Simmons, getting Harden in return would be a perfect return for this franchise. While that would be tantalizing for Houston, the Sixers have made it clear since the season ended on their intent of keeping Simmons and Joel Embiid together.
All of this information indicates the notion of Harden remaining in Houston doesn’t seem as clear as it did last week, when the perennial All-Star said he was still committed to the team after rumors began to swirl about Westbrook potentially being traded as well.
