The 76ers are considered the favorite to trade for James Harden.
Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports:
I was then told that Tilman Fertitta – the owner of the Houston Rockets – he was just determined that they would not make a deal with Philly, and that Daryl Morey was obviously the GM there.
Morey and Fertitta had each other in Houston. Morey apparently resigned last fall as general manager of Rockets to spend more time with his family. But – as Fertitta predicted – Morey landed with Philadelphia a short while later (at a big salary). Morey was later fined for tampering with Harden, which often only happens when someone files a complaint.
This report begs the question: Did Houston general manager Rafael Stone actually opt for Victor Oladipo and the Nets choice Houston got for Harden, or did Stone prefer the Ben Simmons-centered 76ers package? Fertitta had previously dominated his basketball operations division.
Sometimes owners say they will not trade with frustration or with a certain team, or to both increase the leverage. (Smart executives may even think that the owner of their team is set up in a certain way to get better deals.) Pelicans owner Gayle Benson allegedly maintained that New Orleans would not exchange Anthony Davis for the Lakers. . Although she denied it, many people believed that the Pelicans would not exchange Davis for the Lakers. The Pelicans, of course, eventually traded Davis to the Lakers – for a massive return.
Even though he is wash against which Harden traded against Philadelphia, Fertitta did not necessarily stick to the emotional mandate. The 76ers ultimately seem to be really for Harden.
Of course, stubbornness sometimes prevails.
I will therefore not rule out that Fertitta absolutely refuses to trade Harden to Morey and Philadelphia. But I would not blindly trust it either. It’s just too likely that it’s shock in the first place or that Fertitta’s attitude has changed.