NBA Rumors: The Hold-Up On A James Harden Trade Is Revealed

Here we go again. Didn't the Philadelphia 76ers and head executive Daryl Morey just go through this a couple of years back with Ben Simmons? The word now is that Harden is being steadfast in his desire to get to the Los Angeles Clippers, but that Morey is being just as stubborn, asking an "exorbitant" price for his not-so-in-demand player, holding up any possible trade. 

"[Daryl Morey's] asking price is exorbitant. Teams are not engaging the Sixers with the kind of asks that [Daryl's] asking for James Harden... Right now, the Harden talks, like [Damian] Lillard, are going to linger into the summer."

— @wojespnpic.twitter.com/Md76OfqkqR

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) July 14, 2023

"It feels a lot like what Daryl Morey was doing with Ben Simmons a couple of years ago," said ESPN NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski. "His asking price is exorbitant. Teams are not engaging the Sixers with the kind of asks that [Daryl's] asking for James Harden... Right now, the Harden talks, like [Damian] Lillard, are going to linger into the summer.

"But like with Ben Simmons, there's hope on the Sixers side that eventually, at some point, they can get James Harden on board about being in Philadelphia."

However, other insiders doubt that that's going to happen.

“If you talk to people around him, he’s not backing down. He wants out of Philadelphia.”

- @ZachLowe_NBA on James Harden pic.twitter.com/TdzmGpFqIa

— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) July 14, 2023

ESPN's Zach Lowe says, “If you talk to people around [Harden}, he’s not backing down. He wants out of Philadelphia.” 

Harden opted in to the final year of his contract, at $35M, only to immediately ask for a trade. But Morey, as Woj notes, always drives a hard bargain, and we'll be waiting for quite a while to see how this all resolves. 

Photo: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports