As the Philadelphia 76ers prepare for what promises to be a very interesting offseason, the big focus is going to be on James Harden. While the Sixers have to find a new coach to replace the fired Doc Rivers, the question of whether Harden returns is going to be the big focus.
Harden will likely opt out of his contract and enter free agency. There have been strong reports of his returning to the Houston Rockets. He has family and business ventures in Houston, so it would make sense for him to go back to the Rockets. However, the Sixers can offer him the most money.
The big question is, should they?
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reports there is an appetite for Harden to get a four-year $200 million deal in the offseason. This comes after he had a very productive season, averaging 21 points, a league-leading 10.7 assists and 6.1 rebounds while shooting a career-high 38.5% from deep.
He followed by averaging 20.3 points, 8.3 assists and 6.2 rebounds in the postseason. He shot 39.3% from the floor and 37.8% from deep in the playoffs which, on paper, are very good numbers.
However, when putting it into context, he had some really rough games when it mattered most in the postseason.
In Game 6 of the second round, with a chance to eliminate the Boston Celtics, Harden shot 4-for-16 from the floor and 0-for-6 from deep in a loss at home. He followed by going 3-for-11 for nine points in the Game 7 loss. He also shot a combined 5-for-28 in the losses in Game 2 and Game 3 of that series.
This is not to put all of the blame on Harden. Not at all. There were plenty of other reasons the Sixers lost that series to the Celtics. He scored 45 points in the Game 1 win on the road without Joel Embiid and 42 points in the Game 4 win while also knocking down the go-ahead 3 in both games to lead the Sixers to wins.
However, he gets a large amount of the blame due to the fact he is a future Hall of Famer, and he is going to be a free agent in the offseason. When considering how much of a see-saw his production was in second round against Boston, it is tough to give him $200 million this offseason.
Daryl Morey has said he has backup plans in case The Beard leaves. It will be interesting to see how the Sixers handle this entire situation when the time comes. One has to assume the Sixers want to bring him back after such a productive season, but when considering the up-and-down playoff performances and his age, it really is such a tough sell to justify giving him $200 million over four years.
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