Why 76ers will prefer to keep disgruntled star James Harden months into the season? Exploring more as 9x All-Star misses media day

Following the Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday trades, James Harden remains the last big name on the market. In an effort to land on a new team, the former MVP has chosen not to appear at media day. Despite him wanting a change of scenery now, one analyst laid out why it might be better for the Philadelphia 76ers to wait.

After opting into his player option, James Harden informed the 76ers that he'd like to be traded. From the beginning, the LA Clippers have been his desired landing spot. The two sides have spoken about a trade, but recent reports suggest there is little to no traction.

At the moment, it appears there is little to no market for James Harden. Instead of selling for less, Daryl Morey is better off waiting into the season to resume trade talks. After December 15th, teams will be in a better position to increase their offers. Among the teams mentioned to do so include the LA Lakers and Chicago Bulls.

---

Lakers and Bulls could give the 76ers depth pieces in possible James Harden trade

December 15th is a very improtant date on the NBA calendar. From there, players who signed a deal the previous offseason are able to be put in trades. With the market being almost non-existent now, Daryl Morey is better off waiting until then to start making calls about James Harden again.

Aside from his preferred landing spot of the LA Clippers, the Chicago Bulls and LA Lakers were recently picked as two teams who make better offers later down the road. For Chicago, they'd be able to send guards Coby White and Jevon Carter to Philly.

"If the Bulls want to pair Harden with Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic, they’ll need to wait until some of their free agents like Coby White and Jevon Carter are available to be traded."

White is a former lottery pick who's had an up-and-down career, and Carter is a defensive-minded guard who would fit in greatly with head coach Nick Nurse.

As for the Lakers, their offer could be a little more enticing past December 15th. They could create a package centered around newly signed guards D'Angelo Russell and Gabe Vincent.

"Nothing may motivate the Clippers to increase their offer more than the possibility of the Lakers getting involved for Harden. Their point guard rotation is set with D’Angelo Russell and Gabe Vincent but they’ll always be on the lookout for an upgrade."

Russell is a former All-Star who could easily slide into the starting point guard role. Along with being able to facilitate, he is also a scoring option who can spot-up fromt deep. Vincent is a reliable backup guard who showed his value with the Miami Heat during thier run to the finals last year.

Neither package jumps off the page, but could provide an upgrade for the Philadelphia 76ers. Especially the Lakers offer, which theoretically would probably be the best offer Morey would get for James Harden.

Seeing that he's been in this position before with Ben Simmons, Morey is likely to practice patience again. He has shown he's capable of holding his ground until the proper deal comes along.