Joel Embiid was pushing the Philadelphia 76ers to trade for Bradley Beal ahead of their deal for James Harden, according to sources that spoke with Bill Simmons.
“This is what I heard,” said Simmons on his podcast. “I’ve had pretty good intel throughout this whole thing. This is what I was hearing in the moment. That Embiid really wanted Bradley Beal and was pushing really hard for it. And was talking to him all the time. And was pushing, pushing, pushing. And part of the reason the trade stuff took so long was because there was this Sixers’ side that wanted Harden. Obviously Daryl [Morey], because Harden is his guy. But Embiid really wanted Beal because he felt like he was a better fit. And was pushing, pushing, pushing.
“Then Beal gets hurt. But then Embiid is still pushing. ‘No, no, no, Beal, Beal, Beal.’ Still working on him. And then Beal’s like, ‘I’m out.’ And he gets surgery. And then that’s how we end up with the Harden situation.”
The announcement that Beal would undergo season-ending surgery came two days before the trade deadline.
While Zach Lowe was a guest on the podcast with Simmons and didn’t interject, he previously reported that there is a theory going around the NBA that Harden could take less money in hopes of Philadelphia signing a third star this offseason. Beal projects to be the highest profile free agent this summer.