The Houston Rockets are determined to trade James Harden, potentially as soon as today, Marc Stein of the New York Times reports.
The news comes on the heels of a particularly damning post-game press conference on Tuesday night in which Harden said that situation in Houston could not be fixed.
Two suitors floated as potential destinations for the perennial All-Star are the Brooklyn Nets and Houston Rockets.
Until a trade is completed, the Rockets intend to keep Harden away from the team. Harden did not practice with the team today.
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The Athletic reports that the Nets have prepared a trade package of four first-round picks and three-pick swaps, the maximum amount of draft compensation allowable given the limiting nature of the Ted Stepien rule.
The Nets would additionally need to send out $33 million in salaries to make such a deal work. That could come in the form of one contract, Kyrie Irving’s, or a combination of rotation players.
The Rockets themselves are said to be pursuing a trade package from Philadelphia that would involve Ben Simmons and rookie Tyrese Maxey heading to Houston (Stein), although it’s worth repeating that Sixers general manager Daryl Morey has said that they have no desire to trade Simmons.
Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reports that Matisse Thybulle is another player the Rockets are interested in.
