Getty James Harden
The Philadelphia 76ers entered the 2023-24 season still very much at a standstill with James Harden. The Los Angeles Clippers have been floated the most as Harden’s next team. However, Harden’s former teammate Kendrick Perkins explained why the Los Angeles Lakers should consider acquiring Harden.
“If I’m the Los Angeles Lakers … I might be looking to trade for James Harden.”
Thoughts on @KendrickPerkins‘ take 👀
“If I’m the Los Angeles Lakers, I might be looking to trade for James Harden. James Harden wants to go to the Clippers, but to be honest with you, James Harden to the Lakers makes the most sense for Anthony Davis. If you want to get him good, easy looks like James Harden did for Joel Embiid last season, how about trading for him?” Perkins said on the October 27 episode of ESPN’s “NBA Today.”
The only contracts the Lakers they could potentially exchange for Harden are those of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The Lakers definitely would not trade either of them for Harden. D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura and Gabe Vincent won’t be trade-eligible until December 14. Austin Reaves won’t be trade-eligible until January 14 following the four-year max extension he signed in July 2023.
For a trade to happen between the Sixers and Lakers, the Lakers would likely have to wait until around Christmas.
NBA Legend Wants Sixers GM Fired Over James Harden Saga
On the October 26 episode of Showtime’s “KG Certified,” NBA legend Kevin Garnett singled out Daryl Morey, the Sixers’ president of basketball operations, for how he’s handled the Harden saga, saying Morey should lose his job.
The Sixers situation with Harden continues to look messy.
What do you think Embiid should do with all of this?
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“This could have been resolved a long time ago,” Garnett said. “This is the b****** of whatever dude name is — Marley, the f****** GM in f****** Philly. These are games. He could have done this in the summer. This could have been over. If I’m Joel Embiid, man, I’m asking for Daryl Morey to be fired and get the f*** out.”
Garnett also said Embiid, Philadelphia’s center and the league’s reigning MVP, should be mad at the Sixers for not resolving the problem.
“If I am Embiid, I am livid,” Garnett said. “I am livid. Man, y’all should have got this problem out of here, got this out of here. He’s the MVP, bro. He ain’t in no championship talks.”
Despite Garnett’s pleas, there here have been no reports that Embiid is angry with the Sixers over Harden or anything else. If the Sixers fail to improve if and when they trade Harden, that could change.
Nick Nurse Gives Update on James Harden
Despite Harden missing the Sixers’ first three games, he remains involved with the team in some capacity. Head coach Nick Nurse updated reporters on Harden’s status.
“James was here,” Nurse said on October 29, according to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps. “He was here for the film session and walk-through. The report on him is he had some good conditioning days, still in the ramp-up process, looking to have him back in practice on Tuesday. That’s about where we are with that.”
More than that, Nurse added more optimistic details on Harden’s possible return.
“All signs are positive conditioning-wise and all those things,” Nurse said. “We just need to get him in some live action, then hopefully we can do that Tuesday.”
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James Harden’s Ex-Teammate Floats Another Sixers Trade Partner