As the entire nation celebrates the July Fourth holiday and the buzz surrounding NBA free agency continues, the future of some big-name players is in question. One of those cases involves the Philadelphia 76ers and James Harden.
Harden, back on June 29, opted into his $35.6 million player option for the upcoming season while also requesting a trade out of Philadelphia. The following few days were filled with differing reports about Harden’s future with the Sixers. On Tuesday morning, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski dropped a report stating the Sixers hope to convince Harden to stay in Philadelphia through next season.
Per @wojespn on ESPN that Daryl Morey hopes to convince James Harden to stay with the #Sixers for 23-24 season#BrotherlyLove #NBA
📺 @espn pic.twitter.com/ksONcHBpC4
— David Malandra Jr (@DaveMReports) July 4, 2023
All indications in recent days point to Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey attempting to hold onto Harden until he gets a deal that he could not turn down. Morey is likely to exemplify the same level of patience he did throughout the Ben Simmons situation in the 2021-22 season.
The road to this point began during last season. Beginning on Christmas Day, there were reports tying Harden to a reunion with his former team, the Houston Rockets. While that scenario ultimately did not play out in free agency, Harden wound up now attempting to force his way out of Philadelphia. This all followed a pair of no-show performances from Harden in Games 6 and 7 of the Sixers’ Eastern Conference semifinals series against the Boston Celtics.
It is now at the point where Harden reportedly has no interest in making things work in Philadelphia. Even if he stayed with the Sixers, there were questions about how he would fit with the style of new head coach Nick Nurse. The window is closing on the Sixers’ championship window with Joel Embiid. How the Harden situation plays out will have a large affect on the Sixers’ championship chances.
