The Sixers are “determined” to retain James Harden for the 2023/24 season, but there will be negotiating between the two sides it and it likely won’t be a long-term max deal, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported on SportsCenter (YouTube link).
Wojnarowski also said the Rockets are worth keeping an eye on as suitor for Harden, as has been reported multiple times, but they have a number of other players they could pursue in free agency with their league-leading cap room.
Another possibility, according to Woj? A sign-and-trade deal, with Harden joining a new team that doesn’t currently have cap space. The former league MVP has a $35.6MM player option next season, he could simply exercise it if he wanted to as well, though that seems unlikely.
ESPN’s Zach Lowe recently said on his podcast that it’s no longer a consensus around the league that Harden will return to Houston, despite rumors linking him to his former club throughout the past season, while Marc Stein reported last week that the star guard was believed to be giving “renewed consideration” to the idea of remaining with Philadelphia.
Wojnarowski’s report is similar to what Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer recently wrote as well, with the Sixers being unwilling to overpay Harden on a long-term contract and the Rockets perhaps having the same reservations.
A 10-time All-Star who was the NBA’s scoring champion for three straight seasons (averaging 33.7 points over that span), Harden, who turns 34 in August, is no longer that type of scorer on a consistent basis, but he led the league in assists (10.7) for the second time in ’22/23, serving as more of a play-maker and secondary option behind Joel Embiid.
Overall, the veteran guard averaged 21.0 PPG, 10.7 APG, 6.1 RPG and 1.2 SPG on .441/.385/.867 shooting in 58 games (36.8 MPG). Those numbers declined to 20.3 PPG, 8.3 APG, 6.2 RPG and 1.8 SPG on .393/.378/.873 shooting in 11 postseason games (38.8 MPG).