Philadelphia 76ers Receive: R.J. Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, Jericho Sims, 2024 first-round pick (most favorable of Dallas and New York), 2026 first-round pick (top-10 protection)
New York Knicks Receive: James Harden
Harden and the Knicks are a questionable fit. The same goes for New York and Philly as trade partners.
The Knicks shouldn't be moving Jalen Brunson, and having him, Harden and Julius Randle in the same rotation is all sorts of wonky. But the Sixers won't be tripping over themselves to create a Randle-Joel Embiid frontcourt, which is also wonky.
This feels like the middle ground. New York doesn't need Barrett nearly as much with Harden coming in, and it gets to retain Quentin Grimes, who's suddenly more essential on defense. Quickley is the most painful asset to give up from the balance of this package, but there's no way he's a deal-breaker. His salary will spike after next season, and he, too, becomes somewhat redundant with Brunson and Harden in the rotation and (likely) heavily staggered.
Reuniting Quickley and Tyrese Maxey in Philadelphia would be fun. (They played together for a year at Kentucky.) Neither stands taller than 6'3", but IQ is aggressive enough on defense for the Sixers to try playing them together. Both are due for massive raises in 2024-25, and it's not clear whether they're a match long term. But the Sixers can look at rerouting IQ later, or they can let both hit restricted free agency, work with their smaller cap holds and try to aim for another seismic addition.
Barrett's inclusion is non-negotiable. Philly needs another player with size who can operate on-ball. Things could get cramped in the half-court with Barrett and Embiid, but RJ has shown enough in the Knicks' bench-heavy units to wonder whether they could mesh as a pick-and-roll duo.
Sims is a nice reserve 5 option, even if the Sixers wind up keeping Paul Reed. The number of picks and their protections here are negotiable.
