Getty James Harden #1 of the Philadelphia 76ers.
When the Philadelphia 76ers traded for James Harden last season, it was a sign from the front office, staff, and team that the goal was to win a championship now.
No, the Sixers weren’t trading franchise cornerstone Ben Simmons for young players with potential. No, GM Daryl Morey wasn’t trading Simmons for role players, either. The goal was to find someone who would bolster Philadelphia’s chances to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Not in three years or five. Now.
Enter James Harden. The former MVP may no longer be the individually dominant playmaker and scorer he was in Houston, but he fit exactly what the Sixers needed. Joel Embiid excels in the pick and roll, as does Harden. Harden carries experience and a win-now approach to compliment Embiid’s superstar prime. And Harden supplied some much-needed playmaking following Simmons’ departure.
But Harden’s tenure in Philadelphia last season was something straight out of a Charles Dickens novel; it was the best of times and the worst of times. Heading into 2022-23, though, the goal remains the same: bring a title to the City of Brotherly Love.
And by all indications, Harden is up for the challenge. When one fan demanded a ring from the Sixers earlier this week, Harden revealed his motivation for the season.
“I told him we need a chip. He was like “this is what I’m here for,” tweeted the fan.
I told him we need a chip. He was like “this is what I’m here for”
#HereTheyCome #Sixers
If Harden is all in, it’s a good sign for Philadelphia. And thankfully, he might not even need to put on a vintage performance in order to get the Sixers over the playoff hump.
Morey: Sixers ‘Don’t Need Five Years Ago James’
Don’t tell Sixers GM Daryl Morey that Harden needs to rediscover his prime Rockets form — he’ll almost certainly disagree with you. Last week, he sat down with NBC Philadelphia’s John Clark on an episode of The Take Off with John Clark to discuss Harden, the PJ Tucker signing, and rising star Tyrese Maxey.
Morey denied that Harden needs to defy Father Time. Instead, he put the impetus squarely in another star’s corner.
“And probably the key things are we need Joel to yet again give us an MVP-level performance; we need James to be just himself — we don’t even need five years ago James, we need the guy we saw last year for most of the games; but the biggest inflection point is probably we need Maxey to take another step forward,” Morey explained.
If Maxey can take another step forward next season, he’ll make a strong case to earn his first All-Star nod. And according to insiders, that shouldn’t be too tall a task for the former Kentucky Wildcat.
Can Maxey Make His First All-Star Game?
At the start of September, Michael Kaskey-Blomain of CBS Sports compiled a list of players likely to make their first All-Star game next season. Among the standouts are former No. 1 overall pick Anthony Edwards, playoff hero Jalen Brunson, and Tyrese Maxey.
“[Maxey’s] improvement helped to solidify him as an excellent complement to All-Star center Joel Embiid, and his ability to play both on and off of the ball should greatly help his fit alongside Harden in Philadelphia’s backcourt moving forward. Maxey has an unrelenting work ethic, and if he continues to develop there will likely be several All-Star selections in his future,” wrote Kaskey-Blomain.
If Maxey makes an All-Star leap next season, it could put the Sixers in elite company. As long as Embiid is healthy, he’s almost a lock to make the midseason festivities. And James Harden very well could be looking at his 11th All-Star nod next season. In Maxey, the Sixers would have lucky number three — the same number of All-Stars as last year’s Golden State Warriors, who went on to win the NBA Finals over the Boston Celtics.