UPDATE [3 p.m.] — Well, that's all folks — for now. The NBA trade deadline has passed and the Sixers won't be making any more deals after the blockbuster James Harden trade. But that doesn't mean Daryl Morey is done adding players.
The team could still use a backup point guard and some depth at center, so maybe Morey and Co. scour the buyout market, where options like Goran Dragic and Enes Freedom are expected to be waiting. Stay tuned, because while the deadline is over, the roster building likely continues...
UPDATE [1:15 p.m] — According to both Shams Charania and Adrian Wojnarowski, the Sixers are trading Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two first-round picks for James Harden and Paul Millsap.
More from our own Kyle Neubeck right here.
Does Daryl Morey have any more tricks up his sleeve before the 3 p.m. deadline?
UPDATE [1:05 p.m.] — The NBA trade deadline special just started on ESPN, and they didn't waste any time bringing in Adrian Wojnarowski to drop a little news about the Sixers, Nets and the ongoing quest to get a Ben Simmons-for-James Harden trade done, saying that there's now "motivation on both sides" to make a deal before the 3 p.m. deadline.
UPDATE [12:50 p.m.] — With just over two hours to go until the trade deadline, we have an update on the situation involving the Sixers and Nets and the possibility of a Ben Simmons-for-James Harden trade.
According to The Inquirer's Keith Pompey, the two teams are in agreement on the major pieces of a trade — Harden and Simmons — but where they are unable to come to an agreement is what other pieces should be included to make a deal work. Here's more from Pompey:
League sources have said the Sixers and Brooklyn Nets are willing to swap the key pieces — the Sixers’ Ben Simmons for the Nets’ James Harden. However, the trade discussions are on the pieces that will be added to a potential deal.
The Sixers have been adamant about not packaging their young standouts Tyrese Maxey and Matisse Thybulle. The trade deadline is at 3 p.m. Thursday.
Sources say the teams spoke Thursday morning. One source said Sixers co-owner Michael Rubin is involved in the situation and that the Nets are asking for a lot. [inquirer.com]
Pompey also added that a league source says that as of Thursday morning, Seth Curry was out of a potential trade a day after his name popped up in rumors alongside Thybulle and a first-round pick. Moreover, according to Pompey, a person close to the Sixers disputed the package centered around Simmons-for-Harden outright. Meanwhile the Sixers say they're content to wait until the summer to move Simmons in order to avoid giving up Maxey and/or Thybulle.
In other words, it's all over the place and depends on who you ask. Would you expect anything else this close to the deadline? Stay tuned...
FROM EARLIER
It's finally here. It's NBA trade deadline day and the rumors have already started flying with Adrian Wojnarowski reporting that Harden indeed wants out of Brooklyn, but that he's hesitant to formally demand a trade because of how that might look publicly a year after forcing his way out of Houston.
So, instead, he just got the biggest basketball reporter on the planet to do it for him.
Although Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden wants a trade to the Philadelphia 76ers, he has resisted making that formal request out of fear of the public backlash that would come with asking out of a second franchise in consecutive seasons, sources told ESPN.
Harden is hopeful that 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey secures a trade for him prior to Thursday's 3 p.m. ET NBA trade deadline, but Morey and Nets general manager Sean Marks have yet to become engaged in serious dialogue on a deal, sources said.
There's still an expectation that the sides will communicate Thursday and the possibility of a deal remains, but both teams are left measuring the risk-reward of a Harden deal, sources said. [espn.com]
This is not the first we've heard that Harden wants out, with Brian Windhorst reporting a day earlier that the Nets guard not only wants out of Brooklyn, but wants a trade to the Sixers. That report came shortly after Windhorst described the two teams as "in the deal zone."
MORE: NBA Trade Rumors: James Harden wants Sixers trade, doesn't want to submit trade request | NBA trade rumors: Sixers and Nets are 'in the deal zone' for Harden trade; Philly shopping Tobias Harris | How much is too much for Sixers to offer for James Harden?
Meanwhile, ESPN's Zach Lowe is reporting that Harden didn't even make the trip to Washington for tonight's Nets-Wizards game.
So will a trade surrounding Ben Simmons and Harden get done before Thursday's 3 p.m. deadline? Stay tuned. We'll keep you covered with all the latest news and rumors surrounding the Sixers and will top off this post with anything relevant throughout the day.
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