Nick Piccone
James Harden is playing both sides as much as possible during the lead up to NBA free agency in July. After a report in May suggested he was definitely going to return to Houston, now there are reports that Harden and the Sixers will work out a deal for him to return to the team. Classic misdirection from the powers that be in order to facilitate the best deal for Harden.
I thought for sure James Harden would return to Houston, and I was all for it. I’d seen enough and his playoff legacy is what it is – nothing much. Weeks after the initial report he would return to Houston, reports popped up that Harden was “torn” between returning to Houston and staying in Philadelphia – aka he was trying to start a bidding war between the teams.
Sixers are more optimistic now that James Harden will stay and re-sign with them according to @PompeyOnSixers and @ZachLowe_NBA bets that a lot of front office executives believe James is coming back to Philly. https://t.co/Rd9X1SkTHr
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) June 19, 2023
Now, the question is, do you believe if the Sixers are in “win now” mode, Harden gives them that best chance? Or is losing him addition by subtraction. He certainly helped propel the Sixers to two victories in the second round against the Boston Celtics in this year’s playoffs, but he and Joel Embiid also quit on the court at home in Game 6 and on the road in Game 7. Do we really want to go through that again? That’s Harden’s legacy in the playoffs.
Photo: Yong Kim/Inquirer
You can follow Nick Piccone on Twitter (@_piccone) and e-mail him at [email protected]. You can read his pro wrestling articles on PhillyVoice here.
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