The trade deadline in the NBA is always a time when the rumors are flying. Every day, a player can hear about their name being brought up in any rumor and that is something that can be a big distraction for anybody while trying to do their job on the court.
The Philadelphia 76ers are a team that has been brought up in trade deadline rumors repeatedly due to the Ben Simmons situation as well as their known interest in Brooklyn Nets star James Harden. The rumors around the Sixers are going to grow louder as the week goes on leading up to Thursday and that can be tough for everybody involved.
“The trade deadline is, I mean, it’s tough,” said Joel Embiid. “I’ve been fortunate to not really be involved. You never know. Anything has a price. I could be traded any time. I’ve said in the past, if some team comes and offers, I don’t know, 10 first-round picks, that would be hard to say no so it’s tough.”
While a guy like Embiid has never been involved at the deadline, for obvious reasons, Tobias Harris knows all too well about the stresses of the trade deadline. He has been dealt five times in his career and he has had his name pop up in rumors again with the Sixers so this is nothing new to him, but it still does bring stress for him.
“I’d be lying to say nobody’s talking about the trade deadline, but our team is in the news more than anything,” said Harris. “This is guy’s livelihood and career. So at the end of the day, still playing the game that you love and just embracing the whole group, everybody day by day, and we’ll see what happens, but it’s definitely a nerve-wracking time. I would say trade deadline for sure, but at this point, it’s just a part of basketball now.”
Harris mentioned in an exclusive interview with Sixers Wire that being traded so much allowed him to see the business side of the game. Embiid also added that this is a business of winning championships more than anything.
“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if your name is in trade rumors and stuff,” said Embiid. “It is business. These teams, they’re gonna do whatever is necessary for them to be able to compete and also win a championship. So if they believe that they can get better, I don’t think it’s personal. It is business. That’s why I never understand why people getting mad and all that stuff. They’re always gonna do whatever is necessary to be able to get better and also win a championship because, for every team, that’s the goal. That’s the main goal.”
The Sixers have maintained their strong play on the floor as they are now 32-21 on the season after a win on Sunday over the Chicago Bulls. Despite the obvious distractions, they are sitting just 1.5 games out of the No. 1 seed at the moment.
“If something happens, it happens, if not, we keep it pushing, we keep it rolling,” said Harris. “Right now, it’s obviously a hot time like everybody and the mother believes they’re Woj and come up with deals and teams and whatever so just focus on present moment, where we got our group and game by game, but it’s definitely one of those times though for sure.”
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
[mm-video type=playlist id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01eqbvq570kgj8vfs7 image=https://sixerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
[listicle id=58155]
[lawrence-related id=59590,59277,59361]