NBA Draft in a few hours. What will the Sixers do?

We’ll find out soon enough, but in the meantime, here are some of the rumors floating around out there:

I think we’d all agree that Harden isn’t coming here without one of the All-Stars going to Houston in return. If you can do something “significant” without moving either guy, then shit, yeah, do it. Whatever “it” is.

Thybulle was good as a rookie but the thought that he’d be untouchable is strange. If you can package him into a deal for a Harden, Zach Levine, or Bradley Beal, then you absolutely do it. You can find another three and D wing somewhere else.

At The Athletic, Kelly Iko and David Aldridge have a couple of Sixers-related nuggets in a story titled “Beyond counseling: Why James Harden and the Rockets are on the verge of divorce.”

Philadelphia’s interest in Harden has grown in recent weeks, sources said. Morey’s ascension to the top decision-maker spot on the basketball side as president of basketball operations is an obvious link, given the history Harden and he share, but there’s also the lure of the Eastern Conference. Rapper Meek Mill has a longstanding relationship with Harden and has been trying to convince him to come to Philadelphia, according to a source. Billionaire Michael Rubin, a close friend of Meek’s and co-owner of the 76ers, is also very fond of Harden.

But with Morey and new coach Doc Rivers just getting up to speed on the franchise, the 76ers are still contemplating the pros and cons of keeping their superstar duo of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons together. One or the other, along with multiple other pieces, would have to be dealt to Houston in any potential deal for Harden. Still, we all know that Morey is not one to nibble at the margins; he tends to take big swings.

Well good to hear that Meek is involved. He owes his hometown after doing some New England Patriots after party nonsense a while back.

As for the second paragraph, I think it’s worth reiterating that the Sixers were humming right along with Simmons, Embiid, and the trio of Robert Covington, Dario Saric, and JJ Redick back in 2017 and 2018. Plus-20 net rating for that group, which didn’t have a lot of playoff experience and just ran into a better Boston team in the second round. But the proof was pretty much there on the offensive side of the ball, that if you put shooters around Ben and Joel, they’ll be successful.

That’s pretty much it for now. Levine’s name keeps popping up on Twitter, but as far as I can tell there doesn’t seem to be a specific report to source that to.

We’ll keep an eye out. The NBA is new offseason hot stove league, where people seem to care more about trades, the draft, and free agency than the actual game itself.