Getty James Harden of the Philadelphia 76ers
With James Harden expected to go into the offseason as an unrestricted free agent, the two most common teams who have come up as destinations for his services are the Philadelphia 76ers and the Houston Rockets. Bleacher Report’s Adam Wells floated another possible suitor for Harden – the Phoenix Suns.
Wells used Harden’s time with his former team, the Brooklyn Nets, to explain why the Suns may go after him.
“If there is an argument for the Suns once again eschewing depth to go after a player like Harden, it’s what we saw when he played with Durant and Kyrie Irving for the Brooklyn Nets.
It wasn’t a large sample size for that trio, but the Nets’ offense was unstoppable when they were on the court together. Devin Booker, at this stage of his career, is basically Kyrie Irving on the court without all of the extra baggage.”
Wells concluded by saying that even if it’s unlikely, there are valid reasons why the Suns should go after Harden.
“It’s probably a long shot they would even get in the mix for Harden, but there are viable reasons it could happen if that’s the direction Ishbia and president of basketball operations James Jones want to go in.”
James Harden Was ‘Driving Force’ Behind Doc Rivers’ Firing
After Doc Rivers was fired as head coach, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported that Harden was the one who pushed for Rivers to be fired.
“Several members of Rivers’ staff, sources said, have pointed to All-Star point guard James Harden — whom league personnel are expecting to decline his player option in search of a long-term contract — as a driving force behind Rivers’ departure,” Fischer wrote in a story published May 18.
In the story, Fischer named the six most likely candidates to replace Rivers as the Sixers’ head coach.
“At this juncture, Philadelphia’s process to replace former head coach Doc Rivers is not expected to grow beyond the Sixers’ initial list of [Mike] Budenholzer, [Monty] Williams, [Frank] Vogel, Philadelphia assistant Sam Cassell, former Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni and former Raptors head coach Nick Nurse, sources told Yahoo Sports.”
Rockets ‘Not a Shoo-In’ to Get James Harden
Though the Rockets are expected to be in the James Harden sweepstakes, ESPN’s Zach Lowe reported that Rivers’ removal as head coach could impact Harden’s decision in free agency.
“Executives and agents in Chicago are buzzing about the future of the Philadelphia 76ers. The team’s firing of Doc Rivers Tuesday morning had several league sources in Chicago cautioning that James Harden’s much-rumored interest in returning to the Houston Rockets may not be such a shoo-in with Rivers gone in Philly,” Lowe said, adding that even with Rivers fired, there is a strong mutual interest in a reunion between Harden and the Rockets.
“To be clear, Harden and the Rockets remain very much interested in the concept of a reunion,” Lowe said.
He concluded by saying that the Rockets getting the fourth overall pick in the draft also could impact what direction the Rockets go in.
“Winning the lottery would have reoriented the entire franchise around Wembanyama — perhaps reducing their interest in Harden. Does dropping to No. 4 enflame it? Time will tell,” Lowe said.