Getty Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, James Harden of the Philadelphia
With all the uncertainty surrounding if James Harden will stay with the Philadelphia 76ers or not this summer, Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report made his final predictions regarding where he believes Harden will end up this summer between the Sixers and the Houston Rockets.
Buckley explained that the different team situations between the two teams are why he believes Harden will stick around with the Sixers.
“Outside of Harden’s history with the Houston Rockets, it’s hard to tell what would interest him (or the team, for that matter) in a reunion. Harden, who turns 34 in August, is clinging to whatever is left of his prime, while the rebuilding Rockets haven’t even started their ascension.
“Prediction: Harden re-signs with the 76ers.”
While the Sixers have title aspirations and the Rockets are rebuilding, another factor in where Harden decides to sign is how much money the Sixers and Rockets would be willing to offer him.
James Harden’s Future With Sixers ‘Very Unclear’
There’s been much speculation surrounding where Harden will go this offseason. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who first reported Harden’s interest in going back to the Rockets on Christmas Day 2022, only added more fuel to the fire when he provided an update on the situation on April 19 on “The Woj Pod,” indicating that Harden’s interest in staying with the Sixers will be dictated by how they do in the playoffs.
“There’s going to be change there if they don’t – there may be change if they go to the Finals,” Wojnarowski said. “James Harden’s future is very unclear in Philadelphia. Houston is very much in play for him. And I think a lot may depend on [whether] they make a run and win, and it’s easy to pay him long-term big money, or he just wants to be in Houston. Win or lose he goes, or it’s dependent on the team’s success.”
Thus far, the Sixers have yet to lose a playoff game after sweeping the Brooklyn Nets, but they are not out of the woods yet. The team still has to make it past the Eastern Conference semifinals, which they have not done since 2001.
James Harden Singles Out Paul Reed
After the Sixers swept the Nets, Harden praised Sixers backup center Paul Reed for how willing he was to listen while the two shared the floor together.
“He listens. He plays hard. So you got to give him credit for that,” Harden said in his postgame press conference, per House of Highlights. “In the first half, he was getting really good offensive rebounds. He was just trying to go up and over to make difficult shots. I keep telling him, ‘Obviously, if you have a putback layup, then take it, but if you feel like you don’t have a layup, get the ball out, we can get a better shot’. In the second half, he did a better job of that, and that generated more opportunities for our guards.”
Reed started in place of Joel Embiid, who was out because of a sprained knee, and put up 10 points and 15 rebounds in Embiid’s place in the Sixers’ win.