The Philadelphia 76ers have their eyes firmly set on James Harden of the Brooklyn Nets, which has pushed into the background another star player they have had a longtime interest in: Washington Wizards star Bradley Beal.
The Wizards have struggled after a fast start to the season, and speculation has questioned whether Washington could move Beal before the Feb. 10 trade deadline.
NBA veteran reporter Marc Stein, via his Substack, reports Beal could be a late trade target for Philadelphia if Beal were to change his mind about staying in Washington, but that doesn’t appear to be the case.
Per Stein:
With the deadline fast approaching, numerous Washington players have been described as candidates to be dealt in recent days thanks to the Wizards’ spiral to 11th in the East: Word is Montrezl Harrell, Thomas Bryant and especially struggling offseason addition Spencer Dinwiddie are all available to various degrees. As for the most coveted Wizard, one well-placed source reiterated this week that Bradley Beal remains highly unlikely to be seriously discussed in trade talks in the next six days — unless Beal goes to management and requests to be traded. That, I’m told, hasn’t happened yet. If Beal suddenly reaches that point, perhaps Washington emerges as an 11th-hour trade destination for Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons after repeated assertions from rival teams for weeks that they believe the Sixers are intent on keeping Simmons on their roster beyond the deadline for trade pursuits in the offseason.
The Sixers will certainly weigh their options in the coming days, but at this point, it seems like Harden will continue to be their focus. The Sixers want to add a legitimate star to put next to Joel Embiid. Either Beal or Harden would do it, but Harden seems the logical choice.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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