If he doesnt do it after this off season, it's over for him. I would not max him right now. But Philly might not have a choice. He's such a weird guy in that he likes to play a lot of minutes but he looks clearly spent and caves out there. He's either coasting or in denial.
Sorry man but the you dont get to use the spacing excuse right now. You really dont, you've been bad. Sixers have way better spacing than what you were with Brooklyn before.
A few roster changes plus Harden working on his body in the offseason, and Philly will be the best EC team next season. Easier said than done, I know, but that's the best course of action, I think. Gotta trade Harris for bench depth. With the emergence of Maxey and assuming Embiid plays at an MVP level again, Harden really can be the Chris Paul on the Suns. Shoot efficiently and average something like 17p/7r/12a. That'd be perfectly fine.
It seems that the immediate reaction to all these games where Harden struggles to score in volume or with efficiency is to drill down on that fact without recognizing that his playmaking is still top of the league elite. Maybe not THE best, but he’s right up there in efficient shot creation for others. His 122 offensive rating in Philly is higher than any single season in Houston, because while his personal efficient volume scoring is down his creating for others is up and his turnovers have gotten into check. His Philly teammates have seen very noticeable bumps in net ratings since his arrival. I think as you said building some depth will be key for a real run. They already have a dominant group of 5. As of today 34 different 5 man lineups have played at least 200 minutes together this season 1st : Boston : Tatum, Brown, Horford, Smart and Williams : +24.6 net rating 2nd : Philly : Harden, Embiid, Maxey, Thybulle, Harris : +20.9 net rating Just for kicks 24th : Houston : Green, Porter, Wood, Gordon, Tate : +0.2 net rating
Isn't defense something that the Sixers could improve to win? Just saying, it's not all offense on a team that has harden, embiid, maxes, and Harris. Maybe focus on the defensive end.
If they have spacing problem with Embiid, Maxey and Harris, (not to mention Danny Green and Niang off the bench) then it's either incompetent coaching or a bad excuse for Harden.
Again, James Harden’s stats were/are always deceiving much like Westbrick’s. The simpletons (fanbois) blindly ignore shooting percentages and turnovers year after year. In what world is shooting under 40% for the series and averaging 5 turnovers per game “considered good the entire series”? Again, How can it be only one bad quarter when he gets benched in the 4th? As if the abysmal first 3 quarters never happened and McHale decided to bench him in the 4th for shiits and giggles. You know you suck when you get punked by Austin Rivers in the playoffs.
I have watched those guys and Embid is the best shooter among them, the rest are streaky. The spacing problem is real especially if Embid is not drawing help in the middle. Just saying It's not as easy as it sounds, but it should not be as much a hindrance as it has been and that is coaching and Harden.
Harden will 99% opt in to his 47 million option this offseason. The question is, will the Sixers also give him the max 4 year 230 extension afterwards. Even if Harden looks better next season, I'm not sure I'd want to be the team paying Harden nearly 280 million for the next 5 years. But Philly might not have much of a choice. Sixers only options will be: max extension + opt-in get Harden to sign for significantly less than the max trade him during the 2022-23 season
All true, but what makes Chris Paul great rather than just good is the fact that his midrange and 3 point shot are still really good - defenders can't just sag off and clog the passing lanes. If Harden continues like this (no life, no burst, etc), defenders won't leave him like a Ben Simmons or a Westbrook, but the threat of a blow-by is extremely low, so they can adjust more easily to a Harden drive. He'll have a good enough team to not need to take 20+ shots for them to win, but he still has to keep the defenses honest for his playmaking to truly shine. It's hard to expect Harden to be Chris Paul, though. That kind of turnaround, where everyone thought you were as good as washed before showing that you aren't, seems to be the exception rather than the rule. Can't just follow the mold of LeBron either, since LeBron is a physical freak of nature.
76ers are in a tough spot. So very hard to tell if Harden will perform well throughout his entire contract. But if you say no to extending Harden, another team will definitely throw him the max amount of money they can. Also, if Philly says no and ends up being a bad team, Embiid might go elsewhere when it's his time to leave. Saying yes to Harden might be a sunk cost fallacy - they've already given up so much to get him, that they feel as though they have to sign him to not feel like losers. Ditto the bad record thing - if they sign Harden and Philly completely craps the bed, Embiid might go elsewhere when it's his time to leave. Schrodinger's Beard: Could turn out to be Chris Paul, could turn out to be Russell Westbrook / John Wall.
I don't think the Sixers will be in a position where Harden can outright leave by signing with another team. Harden will very likely opt in for the final year of his contract (47 million) since it enables him to make the most money. Signing a new 5 year deal with the Sixers is viable option since its only slightly less money, while signing with a new team costs Harden a year and a ton of money. The Sixers options are either to grant him a max extension/new contract, take a lesser offer or trade him. Agree with the rest of your post.
Morey is a real destroyer, it didn't take him long to break the 76ers foundation of their decade long of searching and developing and zeroed any of their chance for a championship.
4. Let him walk. Use the cap space/save it go after top FA’s and or fill multiple positions. Paying this James Harden a max or anywhere near it would be detrimental to the 76ers. They just might though cause Morey is the biggest Harden nut hugger ever. Getting Harden the first time was Morey’s best move ever. The second will end up being his worst ever especially if he ends up giving him the max or anywhere close to it. Harden is not going to look better next year and sure as hell won’t in the years after that. https://sports.yahoo.com/amphtml/nba-fact-or-fiction-the-james-harden-conundrum-202334825.html
