The future of one James Harden is set to be one of the biggest talking points of this offseason. The 33-year-old intends to opt out of his $35.6 million player option to become a free agent this summer and there has been a lot of speculation on where he ends up.
Shams Charania had reported Harden is torn between staying with the Philadelphia 76ers or returning to the Houston Rockets. It appears he is now starting to lean a bit toward staying with the Sixers, as per NBA insider Marc Stein.
“There have been some rumbles this week that, despite the undeniably strong lure that a return to Houston holds for Harden, he is said to be giving renewed consideration to staying put,” Stein wrote on his Subtack. “There is a loyalty factor for Harden to weigh after Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey spent the bulk of his first 15 months in the City of Brotherly Love trying to acquire him, finally succeeding in February 2022.”
Daryl Morey did indeed go to great lengths to ensure that the two were reunited on the Sixers after their time together with the Rockets. Morey is probably one of the few individuals whom Harden would feel a sense of loyalty toward and it might well lead to him staying. Also, going to the Rockets would all but ensure he wouldn’t be competing for titles anytime soon and that has to be some sort of a factor here as well.
The Sixers Have To Find A Way To Keep James Harden
It would be completely understandable if Sixers fans weren’t too high on Harden after his disappointing showings in the postseason. Still, the franchise absolutely has to find a way to keep him, as they have no chance of contending for a title without him.
Harden led the league in assists this past season at 10.7 a game to go with averages of 21.0 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 1.2 SPG, and 0.5 BPG. Not many players can match that kind of production and if he leaves, the Sixers won’t have the cap space to sign anyone remotely as good as him. Their title window would all but be shut with his departure and that would open the door for Joel Embiid to potentially want out in the future.
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