- Rachel Nichols shared her thoughts on the James Harden-Sixers drama
- She believed Harden wanted to be the No. 1 option in a team again
- Harden has his sights on playing for the LA Clippers
As the James Harden-Philadelphia 76ers storyline continues to generate headlines, Rachel Nichols offered her two cents behind the guard wanting out of Philly.
Speaking to Shannon Sharpe on Undisputed, the Showtime journalist believed it was about Harden wanting to be recognized as the team’s No. 1 option again.
“He still thinks of himself as the guy from that Game 1 or the guy from that Game 4 (against the Boston Celtics). He thinks he should be leading the show,” Nichols said. “The reason why he wanted out of Philadelphia in the first place is that it’s the Joel Embiid show right now. He wants a different role.”
https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1697278388828787050
She also opined that Harden has immense faith that he can lead a team to the distance, especially after his scintillating 45 and 42-point outings against the Boston Celtics in this past season’s Eastern Conference Semifinals.
There’s no doubt that the team is building a contending roster around Joel Embiid, the current MVP and the Sixers’ bonafide franchise player. This would mean Harden would be No. 2 in the side, and that was one of the reasons behind his move.
The take comes as a sharp contrast to what ESPN analyst and NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski had previously said. Harden’s frustration was due to the Sixers not offering him a long-term max deal after the guard took a pay cut last summer.
As far as the truth goes, only Harden can answer what the actual reason is. But for now, Nichols’ two cents just add more to the murky drama.
James Harden Pulled No Punches Against Philadelphia 76ers President Daryl Morey
Earlier this month, James Harden dropped a shocker when he called out Sixers president Daryl Morey during his China press tour. Harden addressed a packed hall, calling Morey a ‘liar’.
“Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of. Let me say that again. Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of.”
This caused quite the furor and eventually, the NBA fined him $100, 000 for his comments. On his part, Morey is believed to be sticking to his guns and accepting only the best returns possible for Harden. According to team owner Josh Harris:
“Listen, we’re hard at work. I respect James. I want to, obviously, accommodate what he wants. At the same time, I have to think about a championship-contending team, and what we can get back. I’d love to convince him to stay. I understand that that’s not what he wants to do right now.”
Meanwhile, Harden has his sights set on playing for the LA Clippers alongside Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Russell Westbrook.
James Harden Is In Conversations With Kawhi Leonard And Paul George
After initial reports of James Harden and the LA Clippers somewhat simmered, the topic garnered steam again when it was reported that he was in talks with Clippers stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
According to Yahoo! Sports’ Vincent Goodwill, “What I’ve heard is that, hey, James has been in conversation with Paul and Kawhi, and they’re all kind of on the same page.”
“Long reliever where he’s going to eat up innings, he going to eat up games, he’s going to eat up usage while you can nurse Kawhi and Paul and hopefully get them to April where hopefully they’ll be healthy. And you can sort of power James down a little bit and turn this thing over to the two playoff players.”
Harden joining the Clippers will surely change the balance of power in the West, as they will be the second big superteam after the Phoenix Suns. It also raises the expectations that the Clippers will be bonafide title contenders.
But circling back to Nichols’ words of Harden looking to be No. 1, that’s not on the table if he inks a deal with the Clippers. It’s interesting to see where Harden eventually lands.
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