Tag: tim macmahon

At the moment, James Harden is having a terrific season for the Philadelphia 76ers. He is averaging 21.6 points, 10.7 assists and 6.2 rebounds. He’s also shooting 45.6% from the floor and 39.7% from deep. He has continued to show the burst he had before the hamstring injury.

However, talks about the offseason continue to pop up and Harden’s former team, the Houston Rockets, believe they can lure him back to Houston.

ESPN’s Tim MacMahon hopped on “The Hoop Collective” podcast with Brian Windhorst and he said this about a possible Harden-Rockets reunion (h/t Rockets Wire):

Not just that Houston wants to, but Houston believes it is a legitimate possibility and that’s not coming out of thin air. James Harden still spends a lot of time in Houston. Spends his summers in Houston. Works out at the Rockets’ facility on a regular basis. It’s a very real possibility. And Harden, by the way, never shot it down. He just said ‘I don’t know where that came from.’

Harden addressed this report on Christmas Day when he stated that he wants to remain in Philadelphia. All of this could be used as some sort of leverage in order to get what he wants from the Sixers, but the idea that he would go back to Houston when considering how things ended and how badly he wants to win a title, a return wouldn’t make sense at this point in time.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01f1jxkahtwnvzepyp image=]

[lawrence-related id=75917,75911,75908]

The Philadelphia 76ers acquired James Harden in a blockbuster deal from the Brooklyn Nets at the 2022 deadline and re-signed the future Hall of Fame guard on a 1+1 deal to keep him in Philadelphia.

The Sixers believe Harden and Joel Embiid can work together to bring a championship to Philadelphia for the first time since 1983. The duo has had its ups and downs, but when they have been together and healthy, they have been almost unstoppable. Harden’s brilliance as a playmaker complements Embiid’s dominance as a scorer.

However, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon hopped on Tuesday’s “Howdy Partner” podcast and began connecting some dots on a Harden return to the Houston Rockets in 2023 free agency (h/t Rockets Wire):

They’ve got like, $60 million, potentially, in cap space this summer. This is not Oklahoma City, Salt Lake City or San Antonio. This is Houston, a potentially desirable market for free agents.

It will be fascinating to see how free agency plays out. You know how the league works. There’s already been a lot of gossip and dot connecting, ‘Hey, if things don’t work out in Philly, keep an eye out on James Harden back to Houston.’

I think ‘keep an eye out on that’ is certainly fair. First, let’s see how things work out in Philadelphia, where they’re starting to play really good basketball. Also, does that make sense from a Rockets perspective?

Considering how close Harden and president Daryl Morey are, it would be a little surprising to see The Beard head back to Houston. He wants to win a championship. It’s the only thing missing from a stellar resume and he has a much better chance to win with the Sixers rather than with the rebuilding Rockets.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01f5k5xtr64thj7fw2 image=]

[listicle id=72412]

[lawrence-related id=72510,72513,72507]