James Harden may be one of the only top-tier players in the NBA two be in the free agent market this summer, with Kyrie Irving the only other All-Star name in the mix.
Harden’s future in Philadelphia is very unclear, with rumors of him looking to return to the Houston Rockets running rife. According to Ramona Shelbourne, Harden no longer wants to play for Doc Rivers, and that could impact his decision.
“James Harden was not all that supportive of Doc Rivers in his press conference yesterday. Behind the scenes, from what I’m told, one person said to me it would be hard for me to see James wanting to come back and play for Doc again. This is going to be a situation where those two decisions are linked.”
According to @ramonashelburne James Harden coming back to the Sixers would depend on Doc Rivers as coach.
“Behind the scenes, from what I’m told, one person said to me it would be hard for me to see James wanting to come back and play for Doc again.” pic.twitter.com/RRTcwOcJLT
— Crossing Broad (@CrossingBroad) May 15, 2023
Rivers is on the verge of being fired as well, so the 76ers’ management will have to see who blinks first. There’s no point in firing Rivers just to appease Harden when the player is likely to leave. Unless the team can convince a coach like Nick Nurse to fill the vacancy, it seems Rivers could continue into the next season without Harden on the roster.
Should Philadelphia Prioritize Keeping Harden Over Rivers?
Both James Harden and Doc Rivers went out sad in Game 7, as Rivers blew yet another series lead in his career while Harden couldn’t even score double-digit points in the elimination game. Neither person has a lot of sway with the fans right now, with both also leaving a preferred outcome for many supporters.
Given the coaches that have been fired this season and the names available on the market, the 76ers could genuinely move on from the Rivers experiment after three seasons of being a second-round exit. Two more championship-winning coaches, Mike Budenholzer and Nick Nurse, are available, with a former Finals coach, Monty Williams, also available.
There are no easy replacements for Harden on the market, especially when it comes to regular-season production. Unless Philly can somehow pull off a sign-and-trade for him, the team will be in a bad position losing him for nothing.
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