There is growing speculation that Brooklyn Nets star James Harden may be heading to the Philadelphia 76ers as part of a trade that would see under-fire Ben Simmons moving in the opposite direction.

Talk of Harden leaving the Nets is nothing new, and apparently, he’s not too happy with the way Kyrie Irving has become a bit-part player, ruled out of playing any home games because of his vaccination status, and that has added more weight to his potential departure.

The Nets started the season as the big favorite to win the title, and you can see on sidelines they are still sitting at the top of the tree at (+300), ahead of the Golden State Warriors (+475) and the Milwaukee Bucks and the Phoenix Suns at (+700).

Brooklyn is 29-19, and top of the Atlantic Division and fourth overall in the Eastern Conference but have hit a patch of poor form since losing Kevin Durant to a knee injury that has seen the Nets complete a 3-5 record over the course of the past few weeks.

Harden moved to the Barclays Center in January 2021, having spent nine years at the Houston Rockets, during which time he picked up a host of accolades but as yet, no NBA title rings. The 32-year-old is a nine-time All-Star pick and was the NBA MVP for 2018.

Apparently, the move, if it occurred, could lead to an investigation in relation to potential tampering. This relates to the personal relationship between Harden and 76ers president of basketball operations, Daryl Morey, who worked together at the Houston Rockets.

Reportedly one unnamed league exec doesn’t feel the move would be in the best interest of the 76ers and, in particular, the progression of Joel Embiid’s career, going as far as to say;

“If James gets to Philly, it could be a situation where Embiid’s complete game will depend on whether James wants to give him the ball or not — and James is a weird control freak. He will not throw him the ball at certain times in games just to let Joel know that, like, I’m the guy.”

Some reports, however, claim that Harden has no interest in leaving the Nets, at least not just a year after his arrival, with ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski stating;

“James Harden has repeatedly told management, ownership, those in the organization that he is committed to be being a Net,”

“He wants to win a championship there and more than that the ‘Big Three’ in Brooklyn — Kevin Durant, James Harden, Kyrie Irving — that what they say publicly is what they also say privately: which is when they’re together, they believe they’re unstoppable.”

Indeed if Harden does finally want to earn himself an NBA ring, then doing so at the Nets seems a far likelier prospect than at Philadelphia.

It’s also important to note that Brooklyn isn’t apparently considering such a move in the first place and frankly, bringing Ben Simmons into the mix, with all the baggage he brings with him, doesn’t exactly make such a move all that palatable.