The Philadelphia 76ers are now headed into the offseason following yet another second-round exit from the playoffs. The Sixers made a big deal at the deadline to acquire star guard James Harden and have him team up with Joel Embiid, but the deal didn’t bear the fruit that they were hoping for.
Harden put up solid numbers in Philadelphia averaging 21 points and 10 assists in 21 regular-season games after the trade, but the numbers then dropped in the playoffs. He averaged 18.6 points and 8.6 assists while shooting just 40.5% from the floor ad 36.8% from deep.
The question now becomes whether the Sixers give Harden the supermax contract he will be looking for in the 2023 offseason. The future Hall of Famer will likely exercise his player option for the 2022-23 season which is worth $47 million, but after that, then the Sixers will have to make a decision from there.
Harden’s former teammate, Patrick Beverley hopped on “First Take” and he implored the Sixers to give him the supermax contract that he will be looking for:
Max. Supermax. Whatever the word is after supermax, that’s what you give him. He’s James Harden. He’s changed the game. You look at the all time 3-pointers made list. I believe he’s three and he will finish behind Steph Curry at two. He’s the person who gives a supermax to. No hesitation about it. If you hesitate about it, he will go somewhere else. So who else do you get in place of him?
Harden is still a terrific player. There is no doubt about that, but it would be extremely hard to justify giving him $200 million over four years with his penchant to disappear in some games. The biggest example was Game 6 against the Miami Heat when he took only two shots in the second half of an elimination game.
While Beverley makes great points, it is clear that Harden is not the Houston Rockets MVP version of himself. Embiid even admitted it after the loss to the Heat. Philadelphia should still do what they can to keep Harden, but giving him the supermax would be very difficult to justify.
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This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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