That'd be nuts because Embiid will be the far better player for the next years. Not a Philly fan but that is some historic shet right there. I wouldn't blame them if he gets some hateful messages.
Embiid is far better than anyone on the Rockets and will be for the forseeable future, but the Sixers have no assets and limited ways to get better. they can try and trade Maxey and dangle Tobias as an expiring for upgrades, but that’s pretty much it
Apparently though Harden likes the idea of playing with Green though so I'm not sure trading Green for Dame is something he'd be down with. I do think there is something in this for Harden. He won't win a title, unless we get Wemby and Wemby is that amazing. Only rookies I can think of thats come in dominating have been Doncic, Lebron, and Zion...but Zion can hardly stay on the court for it to matter. If Wemby is that guy, comes in instantly hitting 3s, has a face up game, rim protector, instant all-star just add water...I do think that plus Harden plus one of our young guys actually taking a next step? That's the dream scenario. Imagine if Harden comes here and drags THIS team to the playoffs? It would be very hard to slander this man after that. It's a unique legacy at least. Personally I think its better than chasing rings with various contenders season after season and as he ages and eventually declines in performance he'll be in a place that would hopefully appreciate him. That is the benefit with retiring with a fanbase that's familiar with you.
Alienated two big markets at the East Coast in just a couple years man. Some guys are weird. Some just do it because they could. Then he did the whole ring chase charade just for the public and his so-called legacy and once that faded he went 'home' to do business.
Portland loves Dame and he’s securing his own legacy there rather than jumping from franchise to franchise ring chasing…maybe Harden is thinking of doing the same this Philly team might beat the Bucks, but I can’t see them beating the Celtics Why stay in Philly if your ceiling is 3rd best in the conference with limited ways to get better? at that point, options would be to go to yet another team to try and win a ring for the 3rd time in 3 years, or go back to Houston and secure your legacy in the city u call home with a fanbase that still loves u…help guide and develop this new generation of Rockets players getting them some playoff experience and maybe go out like Reggie Miller in Indiana where he had his farewell season on a playoff caliber team then jersey retirement down the road and maybe small ownership stake in the franchise bet he wishes he could’ve just gotten it done that 1st year in BK and then dipped back to Houston
I still think we're just being used a leverage, but fwiw, Harden's charitable foundation, which is run by his mom, is still active in Houston. So I'm not sure if his mom has left Houston or if she's still here, but the foundation is still spending serious money in Houston. I guess you could argue that this is an indication that Harden is done with Houston.
I really don't understand why people are dismissive of this possibility. Harden is no dummy -- he structured his current contract to give the 76ers the ability to sign guys and make a run this season, but he also maintained his flexibility to leave. I'm sure Harden realizes that the 76ers don't have a lot of ability to improve after this season. Not only that, but there aren't many spots available for him on teams with loads of cap room, and certainly no contenders. Perhaps Harden just isn't destined for a ring. That's okay. The fact is, if he returns to Houston on a nice contract and reestablishes a winning program here, that also will cement his legacy.
Morey does still have to convince ownership to commit to a Harden max deal Maybe they’re not fully on board? Especially if the Sixers aren’t a legit contender
I mean you can see this with Philly. He fills in where they need it. He lets Embiid be Embiid and Maxey do what he does best and helps put him in positions to get buckets
Leverage how? I'm serious. Does anyone really expect the 76ers to give him a major extension this offseason, like a 4 year max? I mean, maybe they will, but that's a pretty huge gamble, especially if they underperform in the playoffs this season. And, if not the 76ers, then which team would he go to other than the Rockets?
Let's look at the different scenarios. 1. 76ers win the championship. I'm not sure how that plays into Harden's decision-making. Maybe he resigns to try and win another one, maybe he decides to return to his beloved Houston after achieving his ultimate goal. 2. 76ers make the finals, but lose. This might be the worst scenario for a Harden return as it would motivate both the 76ers and Harden to try again. 3. 76ers underperform in the playoffs. If this happens, do you really think the 76ers are going to want to lock-up Harden on a big deal, and, essentially, lock themselves into this team makeup for the foreseeable future? Do you think Harden will be interested in returning to a team that is essentially maxed-out talentwise and has had little playoff success? In this circumstance, I think Harden returning has the highest possibility of happening.
The stars rarely align for the Houston Rockets. Will this be the summer that a rare event happens for the City of Houston?
It might seem like it. But consider the alternative Eventually Harden will see a sharp decline, now he's never been overly reliant on his athleticism so that might be another 3 seasons or so when we see sharp declines in what he can do...but eventually he will. When that happens he can either be in Houston, garnering love again for making them relevant again and going out beloved or he could be on some random contender at the moment. Just another dude on the roster like Melo's waning years or you name the aging superstar that ended their careers on a random team with no fanfare. Right, I think there are major benefits to being synonymous with an organization. Just look at Hakeem, Hakeem can come back to the Rockets and do anything he wants. Like I'm not sure that's the same with Carmelo and Denver. He burned that bridge twice over while with Harden it was a messy breakup but unlike Melo, Harden left because he couldn't contend with the Rockets. Melo left because he didn't want to be in Denver anymore, Melo actually left a solid team for a worse team because he wanted to be in the NY market. Harden left out of necessity pretty much. It's definitely a sentimental argument but Houston is 100% offering him the max. No question about that. If Philly wants him they better offer him the max, and if I am Morey I'd be offering him the max too. I doubt Embiid would be happy about losing Harden at this point in his career.
My question is about the ownership though, I'm not all that familiar with Philly's owner and if he's the impulsive type. If we get a classic Doc Rivers playoff exit things might be different. Doc Rivers somehow finds a way to make his playoff losses as painful as humanly possible for fanbases. I guess I feel I know two things with some certainty. 1. He's getting the max from Houston. 2. Morey is going to want to offer him the max. What I feel is uncertain is how ownership might feel about it depending on how Philly ends their season and of course Harden's own desires which matter the most here. Could be he wants to come back and all he needs is a max from Tilman and a few assurances and he's even willing to leave an extra year on the table to come back here.
Harden stays in Philly for that 270M+ max contract. We're in the mix if Philly won't put it on the table. I don't know if they will or even should do that, but they probably have to if they want to extend this current teams window.
I'm not sure the love for him here in Houston is nearly as universal as some of his fans in here think.
