The Philadelphia 76ers have recently been linked to James Harden as a potential landing spot via trade. The assumption is that a potential trade would require the inclusion of either Ben Simmons or Joel Embiid to entice the Houston Rockets.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Tim MacMahon, the Rockets and 76ers have had ‘no substantive talks’ about a trade centered around Harden. Philadelphia also has ‘no intention’ to break up Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid to get a deal done.

“The Rockets and the Sixers have had no substantive talks about a potential Harden deal, sources said. New Philadelphia president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, the Rockets’ general manager for the previous 13 seasons, has said he has no intention to break up the Sixers’ All-Star duo of center Joel Embiid and guard/forward Ben Simmons.”

It seems quite apparent that Harden lacks any sort of confidence in the Rockets’ ability to build a championship contender around him. Without Mike D’Antoni or Daryl Morey in the organization, Tim Fertitta has removed the key figures Harden trusts.

Russell Westbrook seemingly foresaw the sinking ship occurring and made his own move to get out of Houston. Now, John Wall is a member of the Rockets while Westbrook will be slotting in a backcourt that features Bradley Beal with the Washington Wizards.

If the 76ers do not feel as though the Nets have the necessary assets to complete a deal for Harden, there should be less pressure to pursue a deal of their own. Otherwise, risking the formation of a superstar trio with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving with Harden would be too much to allow.

The idea of forming a potential duo consisting of Joel Embiid and James Harden should be intriguing for the Philadelphia 76ers. The NBA is heavily predicated on pick-and-roll sequences and both members of those sequences would be elite in their own regard while being able to shred mismatches on switches.