If James Harden leaves the Sixers, the dominoes will start to drop across the entire NBA.
The 33-year-old bearded wonder is a 10-time All-Star and reportedly looking to leave Philadelphia after a season and a half.
While he had his moments in a Sixers jersey, and led the NBA last season with 10.7 assists, the Sixers were a no-show in Game
7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Celtics and were roasted.
Since then, the Sixers fired head coach Doc Rivers and brought in former Raptors coach Nick Nurse, seeking to capture the magic when Nurse led the Raps to the 2019 NBA title.
The Sixers chances to win the 2024 NBA title at prominent American sportsbooks will hinge on the roster they put together, and it all starts with Harden.
Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes was the first to say that Harden was likely about to leave Philly behind now that his contract is up. The working theory all along is that Harden wants to return to Houston, where he won the NBA Most Valuable Player award in 2018 and is where his mom lives…and because of the strong adult entertainment reputation.
The Rockets stink right now, but Harden can name his price and get his shots up with the Rockets. When an NBA player like Harden says he’s looking for “flexibility” he means “I want mine.”
But if Harden leaves, the Sixers then have a big hole to replace at guard. Tyrese Maxey is coming off the best season of his career after averaging 20.3 points with Philly, but he’s more of a shooting guard then facilitator like Harden was. Maxey is entering the last year of his rookie deal.
Speaking of final years, the Sixers are finally into the last year of the five-year $180 million deal with Tobias Harris. He’s about to make $39 million for this upcoming season. He’s never been an All-Star. Can the Sixers find someone who wants to take Harris off their books? Now may be the best time.
And then there is Joel Embiid. He’s the Sixers centerpiece, the reigning MVP in the NBA. He wants to win an NBA title now to cement his legacy as one of the game’s greats.
So the Sixers are caught in the crosshairs of losing marquee talent, but also needing to win now. Do they dare push the total reset button and start over?
The other issue facing the Sixers is there are no easy fixes. Philly doesn’t have a pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. Do they dare sniff around Kyrie Irving? He is a point guard who can score, but…has some baggage. Russell Westbrook? Ugh. Or do they bring in a veteran like Reggie Jackson from the Nuggets to eat some minutes?
Harden leaves the Sixers with nothing but hard decisions.
