As the Philadelphia 76ers move closer to the free agency period, all eyes will be on James Harden. The Beard will likely decide between staying with the Sixers or rejoining the Houston Rockets, and he is reportedly torn on that decision.
Harden has been linked in going back to Houston since Christmas. The old saying is “where there’s smoke, there’s fire,” and it appears Harden will head back to the Rockets.
Paul Pierce, who won an NBA title with the Boston Celtics in 2008, hopped on “Ticket and The Truth.” He gave his thoughts on Harden and the Sixers moving forward in free agency and whether he would sign The Beard:
It depends on the number and the years. I don’t know if you can give James a maximum contract right now because then he’s gonna kind of like handicap your future, you know? And your flexibility because you got to get better. You got to add something to there.
Next year’s @sixers team could look completely different. 👀
James Harden’s free agency decision could determine the future of the franchise.
Watch the latest episode of Ticket and The Truth with @KevinGarnett5KG and @paulpierce34 on our YouTube. pic.twitter.com/BymvKranpj
— SHOWTIME Basketball (@shobasketball) June 6, 2023
Pierce went on to say the Sixers still need to add something to their roster to take the next step. He didn’t specify who or what, but the point remained.
The Harden situation is going to be interesting. Obviously, Philadelphia would like to keep him around. He is a future Hall of Famer and he is still an impactful player. He led the league in assists in 2023 at 10.7 per game, but is he worth $200 million at this stage? Probably not.
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