Charles Barkley believes the Sixers are better off staying away from James Harden rather than acquiring him and adjusting their offense.
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Rumors linking Harden to teams like Philly, Miami, Brooklyn and the Bucks have been abound. The Rockets superstar was seemingly angling for a trade when preseason camp started. He was out partying it up with rapper Lil Baby in Atlanta and Las Vegas.
Mike Missanelli: “I’m putting you in charge. If the Rockets called the Sixers and offered James Harden for Ben Simmons, straight up. Are you doing that if you’re the Sixers.”
Charles Barkley: “No” pic.twitter.com/bEHvrWqaf8
— Sixers Nation (1-0) (@PHLSixersNation) December 17, 2020
The Rockets will definitely demand a King’s ransom in exchange for the Beard. In all probability, they have demanded Ben Simmons or Joel Embiid to give away Harden.
Why Barkley believes the Sixers should stay away from James Harden
Barkley has said before that he doesn’t support the Sixers if they pursue the 3-time scoring champion:
“He’s the best 1-on-1 player I’ve ever seen. He’s not as good as Michael (Jordan) and Kobe (Bryant), but as far as being an offensive force, he’s the best I’ve ever seen. But are you going to change your whole offense, and play him like Mike D’Antoni played him? The Sixers won’t be better with James Harden.”
“The Sixers won’t be better with James Harden.”
Sir Charles is firmly against a trade.https://t.co/dUjAWicOH6
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) December 17, 2020
The biggest criticism of the Sixers these past 3 seasons has been their inability to string together good half-court offenses. The spacing issue with both Simmons and Embiid on the floor has always persisted. The Sixers were also a bad road team last year, with a 10-24 record before the league shutdown.
Whatever the case may be, if the Sixers have an opportunity to trade for Harden without giving up their franchise players, they should go all in. Opportunities to combine 3 such great talents come around very rarely.