The Philadelphia 76ers have much to figure out as they move on from yet another conference semifinals exit. The Sixers have to find a new coach after moving on from Doc Rivers after three seasons, and they have one big name to focus on free agency: James Harden.
The Beard is expected to opt out of his player option for the 2023-24 season and enter free agency. A reunion with the Houston Rockets seems imminent, but is it? Could this all be a leverage play to get more from the Sixers?
It’s no secret Harden still has a lot of love and appreciation in and for Houston. He has family there, and he has business ventures there. It would make a lot of sense if he did return to Houston to be the mentor and elite point guard they need to help their young players grow.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, however, believes Harden is looking to remain with the Sixers despite the obvious Rockets interest. Windhorst said on “The Hoop Collective”:
The two big names out on the market this year are James Harden and Kyrie Irving. Both of them, at $48 to $50-something, contracts would average $50 million, seem like very bad bets, but there is a scarcity (of star talent) there. I also think that both of them, Kyrie showing up to Laker games, James Harden being rumored to be attached to the Rockets, I still suspect that all of that is one giant leverage play. That, what James Harden really wants is to elicit the biggest offer out of the Sixers even if it isn’t a max. Whatever the number of money is, for as long as many years as he can get, and that this slow dance for months and these rumors are all sort of tied to that. I think that Kyrie could be doing the same exact thing. Just doing all of this, and whatever he may do between now and free agency to try to get the juiciest offer he can from the team that he’s on because those are the teams (the Sixers and Mavericks) that face the most damage from losing those guys.
The Sixers are going to be smart about this situation with Harden. Whenever they can begin negotiations, they are going to try to work out the right money and years with him so they can still make moves to improve the roster. President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey has expressed interest in bringing back the future Hall of Famer, and one has to assume he will work something out with him considering their strong relationship.
On the flip side, the reports of linking Harden to Houston have continued since Christmas. That old saying “where there’s smoke, there’s fire” might be an accurate representation of where Harden is headed in free agency. It will be interesting to see how all of this plays out for both sides.
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