As the Philadelphia 76ers prepare for what promises to be a very exciting offseason, the biggest focus will be on James Harden. While the Sixers have yet to find a new coach to replace the fired Doc Rivers, the question of whether or not Harden returns will be the biggest focus.
Harden will likely be released from his contract and into free agency. There have been strong reports of him Back to the Houston Rockets Where he still has family and business ventures in Houston. It would make sense for him to go back to the Rockets, but the Sixers can offer him the most money.
The big question is, should they do that?
on ESPN Reporting by Brian Windhorst that there is an “appetite” for Harden to get a 4-year, $200 million deal in the offseason. This comes after he had a very productive season averaging 21 points, making a league-leading 10.7 assists, and 6.1 rebounds while shooting 38.5% from depth.
He followed that up with averages of 20.3 points, 8.3 assists, and 6.2 rebounds in the postseason. He shot 39.3% from the floor and 37.8% from depth in the playoffs which are very good numbers on paper.
However, when put into context, he had some really tough games when it mattered most in the postseason.
In Game 6 of Round 2, with a chance to throw off the Boston Celtics, Harden shot just 4-for-16 from the floor and 0-for-6 from depth in the home run loss. He followed that up by going 3-for-11 for nine points in the Game 7 loss. He also shot 5-for-28 in losses in Game 2 and Game 3 of that series.
This is not to blame Harden entirely. Absolutely. There were plenty of other reasons why the Sixers lost that series to the Celtics. He scored 45 points in the Game 1 win on the road over Don Joel Embiid and then 42 points in the Game 4 win while also hitting the go-ahead in both games to lead the Sixers to victory.
However, he gets a good deal of the blame due to the fact that he’s a future Hall of Famer and he’s going to be a free agent on the outside. When considering how much watching he was producing in the second round against Boston, it’s very hard to decide that he’s given $200 million this season.
Daryl Morey said it He has backup plans In the case of leaving the beard. It will be interesting to see how the Sixers handle this whole situation when the time comes. One has to assume the Sixers would want to bring him back after such a productive season, but when you consider his sloppy upward performances and his age, it’s really hard to justify giving him $200 million over four years.