It would appear that James Harden’s time with the Philadelphia 76ers might well have come to an end following their Game 7 loss to the Boston Celtics.
Harden is expected to decline his $35.6 million player option to become an unrestricted free agent and Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer states league executives believe he is headed back to the Houston Rockets.
“The belief among NBA executives is that James Harden will rejoin the Houston Rockets this summer.”
“Sources have said his interest in returning to Houston is mutual and not a ploy to get a lucrative deal out of the Sixers. His mother still lives in the city. He has several business ventures there. And, as one source said, ‘He’s treated like a god in Houston.'”
Pompey’s sources also told him that the Rockets asked head coaching candidates during interviews about potentially coaching Harden. Rumors of a potential return to the Rockets first emerged back in December last year and while Harden denied it back then, it would appear this has been in the works for a while now.
Perhaps if the Sixers had some success in the postseason, then Harden might have been inclined to stay, but they, unfortunately, didn’t. His poor play certainly had a lot to do with that, but if he believes he can’t win in Philadelphia, then returning to Houston, where he is still held in very high regard, makes sense.
James Harden’s Departure Would Be A Big Blow For The Sixers
For all his flaws, losing Harden in free agency would be a massive blow for the Sixers. Sure, he is nowhere near the player he once was but he still averaged a league-leading 10.7 APG to go with 21.0 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and 1.2 SPG this season. Replacing that kind of production is a very hard task and it may be why they are doing whatever they can to make him happy.
It was reported that the star guard didn’t want to play for Doc Rivers and Rivers was promptly fired not too long after. Harden was reportedly a driving force behind it but it doesn’t seem like that was enough to keep him in Philadelphia. If he does end up leaving, one wonders what Joel Embiid might do, as the Sixers would have absolutely no chance of winning a title without Harden.
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