Fans of the Philadelphia 76ers will likely be eagerly awaiting free agency to begin figuring out if superstar James Harden will stay or leave. Since December, the Houston Rockets are believed to be the 76ers’ biggest threat to steal Harden. now, According to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburnethis is no longer the case.
The Phoenix Suns, who have already made waves in the off-season by looking to move future Hall of Famer Chris Paul, are seen as a potential landing spot for Harden. The Suns’ decision not to waive Paul immediately may be an indication that they are in pursuit of Harden.
While Harden can’t sign with a team before July 1st and the Suns must decide what to do with Paul by June 28th, they will likely be moved to each other. If the Suns have reason to believe Harden and the Sixers will be open to signing and trading this summer, they can stick with Paul with a view to trading him to Philadelphia.
James Harden will award the Big Three to the Phoenix.
Harden would give the Suns a third star while simultaneously allowing them to be promoted at point guard with Paul running back. Better yet, they’ll be able to keep Deandre Ayton out of the deal, giving new boss Frank Vogel a chance to work with him and hopefully salvage his value.
From Philadelphia’s point of view, given the risk of losing Harden to nothing, they might agree to take Paul back as an option to close the gap at the point guard, hoping not to fall back too far. It’s far from perfect, but Paul could help the Sixers compete in the short term while working to reshape their roster around Joel Embiid in the long term.
On the other hand, the Rockets can sign Harden outright, and while that doesn’t necessarily give them an advantage over the Suns, it can if the Sixers decide not to help them sign and trade. That would hurt Philadelphia, given that they would still lose to him, but GM Daryl Morey might not want Harden’s help in putting together a Big Three out of the West.
Overall, the Suns seem to have a good chance of convincing Harden to join them since they have two stars in Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. Whatever it was, the Sixers made an effort to try to keep him, and they could torpedo any hopes of Harden going to Phoenix.
Meanwhile, the Rockets appear confident that he will return to Houston. With the Sixers, Suns, and Rockets following Harden, he has the potential to dramatically change three teams.