I mean, it's kind of a non-story but whatever you think of Woj I don't believe that's how he operates. The substance of his report suggests more than just casual or offhand interest, and also not single-sourced (if still anonymous). No reason not to think the report is true (IF he stays with the Sixers was already built into the report) and something like this only gets out there if someone with a vested interest wants it out there, not because a reporter is throwing darts at random subjects.
Harden and his inner circle have been openly weighing Houston in recent months, sources said
The leak/gossip may have come from Houston, or rival GMs. Of course if his agent has had casual chats with Houston this is step 1 to the next tampering violation but that seems built into Harden too.
