I read in one of these threads that someone thought the longer Houston waited, the better the return would be for them. I was thinking the opposite.
Even if that person is right, I think it favors the Celtics if the Harden process is dragged out. It gives a chance for one of the young players to establish themselves and for Walker to prove he's healthy. And if Simmons really isn't available, I think the C's might actually be able to compete with any of the other offers out there without including Jaylen if one or two of Langford, Nesmith, TL, Grant, etc are showing serious promise.
Without Simmons in the mix, I think the best offer might be picks and promising prospects. Who else would be offering anything close to Brown, never mind Brown +? I guess Denver could do something around Porter or Murray but I'm not sure how well a fit Harden would be with Jokic. Honestly, I think Denver would be better off exploring a trade for Bradley Beal.
The more I look, the less I see Houston getting much of a return. So few teams meet the requirement of competing for a title and having a young established star to trade. If Simmons or Brown were/are on the table for Harden, Houston should pretty much bite right away. They aren't going to find another top 50 player under the age of 25 on a team that Harden would actually agree to go to. New Orleans with something around Ingram, maybe.
Indiana would be interesting too if they could pull off a 3+ way deal.
Indiana trades Oladipo, Brogdon, Turner, acquires Harden + Gordon
Houston trades Harden + Gordon, acquires picks + prospects from other teams
Other teams trade picks + prospects, acquire Oladipo, Brogdon, Turner