NBA star James Harden is currently in the midst of another promising title push with the Philadelphia 76ers. This is to be expected. The oddity, even in the modern NBA, is his ever-changing squad of running mates. This time two years ago, he was a 10-time All-Star alongside Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn in the second round and a year earlier he was headlining the Houston Rockets’ singles show.
With Harden’s free agency fast approaching, it looks like his trip to the Eastern Conference will end with a dramatic return to the Texans uniform he publicly divorced.
According to the Athletic, Harden is expected to decline his player option for the 2023/24 season making him a free agent this summer and a target for the Rockets. While ESPN first reported that the 33-year-old was seriously considering returning to his old turf.
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This wouldn’t come as a surprise to key players in the 76-man Joel Embiid’s locker room who, according to the report, presumably have every intention of Harden dropping out of the title-chasing roster this summer. “Maybe it makes winning all of this easier [Harden] To head to Houston, with the championship load lifted,” reads the report from The Athletic’s Sam Amick and Kelly Echo.
Or maybe the Sixers make it to the NBA Finals, showing enough promise to make him want to stay and finish the job. And why, as it is, some key Sixers player secretly think Harden might make the Houston reunion a reality? Those are questions for the summer.
A 2018 MVP appearance at Toyota Center for the upcoming cycle would certainly be an amazing turn of events, even acknowledging that two years may have healed the harsh scars of his departure.
During the course of the franchise, Harden became a superstar and achieved several individual honors including three scoring titles and six All-NBA First Team selections, in addition to the aforementioned MVP crown. Even so, the team’s success has been less plentiful.
Yes, the Rockets routinely enjoyed one of the best records in the league during his nine-year stay — a far cry from the . 300 winning percentage they’ve posted since his departure. But with only two Western Conference Finals appearances from his close contract in Houston, Harden’s decision to ask for a trade in 2021 was understandable.
Sports Illustrated revealed that, contrary to public perception at the time, Rocket owner Tillman Fertitta has told the star shooting guard that he’s “always welcome on the team in the future,” and Harden is also open to a potential reunion. Amick and Echo continue to speculate about the factors that made a return to the franchise increasingly likely which include the decision of Michael Rubin, former 76ers owner and close friend of the star, to sell shares in the Philadelphia outfit.
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They also point to Harden’s change in acting adding: “[Troy] A lifelong friend, Payne worked alongside Harden as his business partner and Adidas representative for his entire relationship with the company that lasted nearly a decade.
Between the familiarity with Harden and the Rockets organization, the bonds are strong there.
