James Harden continues to excel for the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2023 NBA playoffs, as illustrated by a pair of brilliant 40-point games that allowed the Sixers to split the first four games of their Eastern Conference semifinal series against heavily favored Boston.
Even as the Sixers surpass expectations, there’s no guarantee the partnership will continue beyond this season. In an ESPN appearance on the day of Sunday’s Game 4, longtime NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski explained Houston still looms as a realistic threat to sign Harden away in free agency.
Among Woj’s comments:
The Houston Rockets loom as a real suitor in free agency this summer. James Harden did a 1 + 1 deal. He can opt out of that and then I think for this Philly organization, they’ve got to look at James Harden at 33 years old. Listen, he had an All-Star caliber season for them and where does he fit in, in terms of years on a contract, money on a contract, and is this just perhaps a leverage play for James Harden?
There are a lot of things that are attractive to Houston for him. It is essentially home, family, there’s familiarity with that organization, and that community, they’ve got $60 million in cap space. They want to be improved next season.
Woj before the game tonight:
"The Houston #Rockets loom as a real suitor in Free Agency. Harden did a 1+1 deal and will opt out of that.
There are a lot of things that are attractive with Houston for him. It is home, family there, familiarity with the organisation & community" pic.twitter.com/BUS7NRja9B
— Paulo Alves (@PauloAlvesNBA) May 7, 2023
Harden, of course, played eight All-Star seasons with the Rockets from October 2012 until January 2021. He won MVP honors in the 2017-18 season and remains a popular figure in the community where he effectively became the second-greatest player in franchise history, trailing only two-time NBA champion Hakeem Olajuwon.
Game 5 between the Sixers and Celtics is Tuesday night. Should Boston find a way to survive this series, expect speculation over Harden’s future to intensify in the coming weeks.
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