Some people within the Philadelphia 76ers reportedly believe that hiring former Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni could eventually lead to the Sixers acquiring superstar guard James Harden.
The potential link between D’Antoni’s hire and an eventual Harden pursuit was reported Thursday by John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Harden can’t become a free agent until 2022 at the earliest. However, should things not go well for the Rockets in the upcoming 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons, some executives around the NBA have speculated that Houston might consider trading Harden at some future point — if they fear potentially losing him for no compensation in free agency. As of now, Harden has offered no indication that he is unhappy with the Rockets.
I’m hearing one of the reasons along with coaching that Sixers have a lot of interest in Mike D’Antoni is feeling with some in organization that he could help lure James Harden to Philly
Harden can become a free agent in 2 years and there is possibility of trade pic.twitter.com/gJVecCuhHN
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) September 24, 2020
Now 31 years old and an eight-time All-Star, Harden is still seeking the first NBA championship of his eventual Hall of Fame career. Since being traded to Houston in October 2012, Harden has consistently chosen to extend his contract with the Rockets before hitting free agency. The most recent two extensions (2016 and 2017) came with D’Antoni as coach.
On many occasions throughout D’Antoni’s four seasons with the Rockets, Harden spoke glowingly of his head coach. Even after Houston’s recent run in the 2020 playoffs came to an end in the second round, Harden answered “of course” when asked if he wanted D’Antoni to return. (It was D’Antoni who reportedly made the final choice to leave Houston.)
On the other hand, while the Sixers do have two All-Stars in Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, it doesn’t appear that their roster is any closer to a title than the one Harden currently leads in Houston alongside All-Star guard and close friend Russell Westbrook. Boston swept Philadelphia in the first round, making the 76ers one of only three NBA playoff teams who didn’t win a single postseason game in 2020.
Does James Harden want Mike D'Antoni to return to the Rockets? "Of course. Of course. Mike has done some unbelievable stuff here."
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) September 13, 2020
Over four seasons with D’Antoni as head coach from 2016 through 2020, Harden averaged 32.4 points (44.3% FG, 36.0% on 3-pointers), 8.8 assists, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game. Harden was the league’s only player to make the All-NBA First Team in each of those seasons.
Led by Harden and D’Antoni, Houston had the top winning percentage in the Western Conference over that span, and they were the only West team to win at least one playoff series in every season.
Harden led the NBA in scoring in each of the last three seasons, and he was an MVP finalist in all four years. He won the award in 2018.
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