Let’s be honest; everyone owns a piece of the James Harden melodrama that is currently taking place in Sixers land. After another second round exit this season, it becomes harder and harder to find a silver lining with the current state of Philly basketball.
This relationship between GM Daryl Morey, Harden and the Sixers was always heading for mutiny. And like a 10-car wreck on I-95, we squinted in agony but couldn’t look away.
It’s become that bad and it was going to come to this.
The First Sign
The story really begins back in December, when rumors surfaced that Harden was destined to rejoin his beloved Houston Rockets in free agency this summer. It didn’t make sense at the time – given the fact that Houston was further away from a championship contender than Philly currently is and Harden allegedly wanted to win. But that’s the thing; it was never truly about the winning for Harden. It was about securing the longest, most lucrative contract possible. If the Rockets rumor was floated by his camp, then perhaps it could hoodwink the title-starved Sixers into keeping the former MVP in Philadelphia with a long-term contract offer they’d likely soon regret given the fact that Harden is now 33-years-old.
To Morey’s credit, he didn’t bite.
James Harden, while one of the most prolific scorers the game has ever seen, is not the same player he was in Houston. The player is an aging asset with his best years behind him. He’s now tried to finagle his way off of three teams in three years, leaving yet another franchise with a Texas-sized headache and no real plausible way to redeem what they had lost to acquire him. To make matters worse, even in the 10-time all-stars best seasons, he’s always disappeared in the playoffs, making it even harder to fulfill that long-term contract commitment because you just don’t know what to expect from Harden when the games truly matter.
No Deal?
According to Noah Levick of NBC Sports Philadelphia, Morey and Co. did attempt to honor Harden’s trade request after the Sixers picked up the guard’s $35.6 million player option. Apparently, trade destinations were sparse.
But that’s where Morey led the Sixers astray. It was inexcusable for the GM to not manifest a trade for the displeased star, especially when you consider who you’re dealing with here.
The last thing the Sixers needed this season was another off-court distraction. It isn’t fair to new Head Coach Nick Nurse or the players that will play for the team this season. The entire situation will loom large over training camp and Nurse and his team will likely field questions regarding it.
Even if it were for pennies on the dollar, trading Harden after he no longer wanted to be part of the solution here was paramount. The Sixers could have expanded Tyrese Maxey’s role, backfilled the roster, and waited to see how far Nurse and his staff could push the group. Then, reassess next off-season with some money to play with when Tobias Harris’ hefty contract comes off their books.
Maybe it’s a lesser of the two evils type of thing, and perhaps the aforementioned wasn’t really an option at the time. But this story feels all too familiar for the Sixers and we know how this book usually ends.
