James Harden has requested a trade without making a formal trade request, or something like that.

It has barely been a year since Harden requested a trade from Houston. Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta reportedly presented the one-time MVP with a choice between Brooklyn and Philadelphia in January 2020. Harden chose the Nets. Now, he wants to play for the 76ers, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

In a wild bit of news on the morning of the NBA's trade deadline, Wojnarowski reported that Harden wants a trade and hopes former Rockets turned Sixers executive Daryl Morey completes one for him on Thursday, but the 10-time All-Star is wary of the public backlash to a second trade request in as many seasons. (Update: The trade did indeed happen.)

Instead, his feelings were leaked to the media.

Morey and Nets general manager Sean Marks subsequently engaged in trade discussions centered on Harden on Thursday morning, according to Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes. Marks rejected Morey's proposal last month.

The trade is sitting right in front of them. Sixers star Ben Simmons, whose elite playmaking and defensive abilities complement Nets stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, has been holding out the entire season after making his trade request from Philadelphia in June. Morey is offering Simmons, Seth Curry, a first-round pick and a second-round pick for Harden, according to multimedia NBA journalist Frank Isola.

Draft picks and Sixers players Curry, Matisse Thybulle and Tyrese Maxey have been discussed as potential sweeteners to a deal. The question is how sweet Morey wants to make his offer, considering he could clear cap space or negotiate a sign-and-trade deal to secure Harden in unrestricted free agency.

Philadelphia's window is open now, though. Joel Embiid is the NBA's MVP favorite, and his Sixers are two losses out of first place in an increasingly wide-open Eastern Conference playoff picture — all despite their $33 million 25-year-old three-time All-Star and two-time All-Defensive First Team selection sitting at home.

Harden is an upgrade from nothing, but he has not been the player who finished top-three in MVP voting each year from 2017-20. This season marks the advanced metrics darling's least efficient since he was an Oklahoma City Thunder reserve a decade ago. He is still averaging 22.5 points, 10.2 assists and eight rebounds a game, albeit on 41/33/87 shooting splits and fewer trips to the free-throw line than in his prime.

Hamstring issues have plagued Harden throughout his Brooklyn tenure. His right hamstring severely limited him in a seven-game Eastern Conference semifinals loss to the eventual champion Milwaukee Bucks last season, and his left hamstring has cost him the past three games. He reportedly did not accompany the Nets for their game against the Wizards in Washington on Thursday to work with their performance staff.

Harden's last outing for the Nets was an abysmal four-point effort in a loss to the Sacramento Kings.

Brooklyn has lost nine straight games, dropping to eighth in the Eastern Conference standings, and Harden has not been the sole root of their problems. Irving only plays road games, because he refuses to meet New York City's vaccine mandate, and Durant has been sidelined since mid-January with a sprained left MCL.

The grass might look greener to Harden in Philadelphia right now. Only, Brooklyn paid a king's ransom for him last year, trading Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert, three unprotected first-round picks and four pick swaps. Flipping Harden for Simmons, who wilted in the playoffs last season and has not played since, is a risky proposition for Marks, who is not far removed from being lauded for constructing a championship favorite.

Marks may have no choice but to salvage Simmons now that Harden has made his passive trade request.

– – – – – – –

Ben Rohrbach is a staff writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach