Getty Leon Rose and William Wesley sit courtside during a game between the New York Knicks and the Chicago Bulls.
The New York Knicks are one of the two playoff contenders expected to pursue James Harden after the superstar guard opted into his $35.6 million player option, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The other team is the Los Angeles Clippers, whom the Knicks tried to engage in a potential trade for eight-time All-Star wing Paul George last week. George could be the Clippers’ biggest trade chip to acquire Harden.
The 33-year-old Harden is coming off his 10th All-Star season, averaging 21.0 points, and 6.1 rebounds while leading the NBA in assists with 10.7 per game.
The Knicks have a collection of draft picks, the expiring salary of Evan Fournier and young players but that would unlikely sway the Sixers, who will presumably seek a win-now player in return to maximize their title window with the reigning MVP Joel Embiid.
Shortly after ESPN broke the news, John Clark of NBC Philadelphia reported that the Sixers would only trade Harden for the package they liked.
“I’m told Sixers will consider trade options involving James Harden but any trade would have to be in their best interest,” Clark tweeted. “I’m told James opted in to preserve his ability to contend for a title with Sixers or another team Maybe he wants to go home to LA and play for the Clippers?”
New York would likely need to rope in a third team to supply a new sidekick for Embiid.
If the Knicks successfully pull off a Harden trade, it will be interesting to watch how the 2018 MVP and the rising Jalen Brunson mesh in their backcourt.
Knicks Tried to Trade Immanuel Quickley
The extension-eligible Immanuel Quickley could be on his way out if the right trade comes along.
Fred Katz of The Athletic reported on Thursday that Quickley was involved in a failed trade talk that would have landed the Knicks “a very good player in his prime.”
“The Knicks are not trying to move Quickley, but they also don’t seem to be against it if they uncover the proper trade. I have heard of at least one situation where they spoke to another team about flipping Quickley for a very good player in his prime. Talks didn’t go far, and it did not seem equivalent to what was going on this past autumn when the Knicks had legitimate discussions with various teams about dealing Quickley for a first-round pick or something like it, league sources told The Athletic at the time,” Katz wrote.
The Sixth Man of the Year finalist is believed to seek a nine-figure extension.
“Don’t expect Quickley to look for a hometown discount. “He is going to want nine figures,” one general manager told Heavy Sports’ NBA insider Sean Deveney. “And that’s for four years. I can’t say the Knicks will go that high, but they might have to. He is not a guy you want to send to restricted free agency.”
Josh Hart Opts In
According to multiple reports, Josh Hart has decided to opt into his $12.9 million player option.
Hart’s decision gives the Knicks full access to their $12.4 million non-tax midlevel exception to pursue Donte DiVincenzo, the former Villanova Wildcat who has been strongly linked to them.
Hart has openly recruited DiVincenzo to join him and Brunson in New York. The trio won a national title in 2016 at Villanova.
Hart will become extension-eligible in August, and the Knicks can sign him to a maximum of $81 million over four years, according to The Athletic’s Fred Katz.
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