Two members of the Klutch Sports family appear to be the focus of trade talks involving Houston’s James Harden, talks which appear to be gaining speed towards a potential deal as soon as the end of day Wednesday. Philadelphia 76ers guards Ben Simmons and Tyrese Maxey are central components of what the Houston Rockets are looking for in a Harden trade, according to Marc Stein of the New York Times.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, talks towards a Harden trade were picking up steam over the weekend, even before Harden dropped a bomb following Tuesday’s blowout loss to the Lakers that the Rockets were “not close” to the Lakers and that the situation in Houston “can’t be fixed.”
Houston's talks with Sixers and Nets gathered momentum in recent days — even before James Harden's news conference on Tuesday night, sources tell @ramonashelburne and me.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 13, 2021
As a response to Harden’s statements last night, the Rockets reportedly decided that they did not want Harden to be at practice. According to numerous reports, the Brooklyn Nets are the other suitor for Harden’s services. The timing of course seems too good to be true with Kyrie Irving’s recent sabbatical from the Nets. However, it appears that Philadelphia’s offer is much more enticing.
If Simmons and Maxey join the Rockets, they will join John Wall and Ben McLemore as Klutch players on the Houston roster.
