Fans warned to buckle up regarding James Harden, Damian Lillard trades
The trade talks surrounding two of the top players in the NBA this offseason have gone very differently, in terms of what's come to light or been reported on the two sides. While Damian Lillard's request for the Portland Trail Blazers to trade him has led to new updates or reports virtually every day or two, there has been more radio silence than chatter about James Harden and his future with the Philadelphia 76ers, at least until just recently.
But while the two stars await their futures, it seems that trade conversations involving both may need some time before we get close to a potential outcome. As ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on "NBA Today," trade discussions around Harden and Lillard may go into the summer, and he didn't appear to be talking about early in the summer.
The comment came after detailing that the current asking price for Harden from Sixers president Daryl Morey is "exorbitant." Woj also pointed back to when the team traded Ben Simmons and began the trade search by asking for a big return before eventually bringing it down to a more realistic area.
Here's a look at the full ESPN clip, courtesy of ClutchPoints.
From the outside looking in, it's hard to envision a path where the Sixers get any form of massive return in a trade for Harden. While he's under contract for next season after opting in, there's been virtually no discussion of a team willing to fork over major assets in a deal.
Tack on the fact that The Athletic's Sam Amick reported just days ago that Harden is "determined" to start next season with the Clippers, and it doesn't exactly signal to the rest of the league that they should back up the Brink's truck if they have interest in acquiring Harden.
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