TL;DR: He may or may not come back. Seriously considering it; trade was amicable split, a “see you later”, not “goodbye”; Sixers “unconcerned” about losing him(title/max earning potential); Houston is home; likes Rockets young talent(Green/Jabari); strong relationship with Fertittas; wants to get paid; Rockets confident of getting a FA meeting
Beyond the financial terms of that deal, though, it was lost on no one inside the Rockets organization that the chosen length of Harden’s most recent contract happened to coincide with the summer in which Houston’s salary cap space opens up like the Gulf of Mexico. In the eyes of some, it was as clear a sign his plan to return was still in place. Still, the Sixers have the inside track here on the financial front if they’re willing to go all in on Harden’s mid-30s (and beyond). While Philadelphia can give Harden a five-year, $272 million max deal (starting salary of $46.9 million with eight percent raises), other teams with max space are limited to four-year, $201 million offers (starting salary of $46.9 million with five percent raises). Considering the dearth of teams with that kind of room (the Rockets, Orlando, San Antonio and Utah) and the fact this will likely be Harden’s last chance at a long-term max deal, it seems the boardroom component looms large here. But the basketball part of the calculus, it seems, is where the Sixers have the most reason to be confident about holding onto Harden. After all, this all-time great who has yet to win a title wouldn’t leave their elite squad for the worst team in the league, would he? Believe it or not, the signs remain strong he just might. For the Rockets, bringing Harden — one of the franchise’s most decorated players — back into the fold at age 34 might be seen as a gamble, but it’s one the organization should be willing to take, especially if he’s able to continue this elite combination of playmaking and scoring. From an emotional standpoint, sources with knowledge of his thinking continue to maintain that while Harden’s head and focus are on winning a championship with the 76ers, his heart will always be in Houston. It’s a comfort zone, his safe space. For starters, it’s the city where he’s lived the longest in his adult life. He continues to have strong ties to the community, in addition to his family and other extensive relationships throughout the area. His nonprofit, Impact 13, aims to improve the quality of life in areas like education and financial freedom for disenfranchised youth and women. As a businessman, he’s also intertwined with the city. He’s a part-owner of Major League Soccer’s Houston Dynamo. He’s also the owner of Thirteen restaurant, one of the most vibrant and popular destinations in town. In a lot of ways, Harden is Houston. And Houston is home. “My family is here — my mom, my sister, my brother — so this is the place I would call home,” Harden told Haute Magazine last year. “I feel like this city deserves for me to still put my stamp on it even though I’m no longer playing here. I’ve got to find ways to continue to do that, and I will.” There’s the more existential aspect of his past Rockets life, too, all those creature comforts he enjoyed in the Harden-centric ecosystem in Houston and that didn’t travel with him to Philadelphia.For all those years — the eight consecutive playoff berths, two West Finals appearances, one MVP season and eight All-Star appearances — Harden had an unofficial agreement with his Rockets bosses. So long as he showed up and showed out, he’d be free to bend the rules when it came to well-chronicled off-court style. “It was the place that allowed him to truly be him,” one source close to the situation said. “They embrace the clubs, the private jets to Vegas, the lack of conditioning. … So they were like, ‘No, you go.’ As long as you put up 30, we’re good. That was not any other place he’d ever been. … He loves that place. It was the place that allowed him to truly be him.” To that end, sources say his relationship with Tilman Fertitta and his son, Patrick Fertitta, remains strong. Patrick has worked closely with his father as a liaison between ownership and management for years. On the court, the ties remain as well. During the offseason, Harden spent a considerable amount of time working out with the Rockets’ young players. Sources say Harden is extremely fond of their collection of talent, notably second-year guard Jalen Green. “I’m proud of him,” Harden said of Green following a surprising December loss to Houston in double overtime. “He has not only lived up to expectations, but he is coming into his swagger every single game. … His aggressiveness from last year has carried over to this year. He’s been attacking the rim, shooting his shots and playing with a lot of confidence. As a young guy, if you have confidence, you can learn all the other things. …As long as he continues to put the work in, he’ll learn game-by-game, season-by-season as he continues to grow.” The Rockets season has been a disaster thus far, with the team on course to owning the league’s worst record for three consecutive seasons — or in other words, the post-Harden era. Between a slew of injuries, a lack of offensive cohesion, a disappearing defensive act and a coaching staff struggling to put the pieces together, it’s been months of head-scratching, finger-pointing and collective frustration on multiple fronts. But still, hope remains. For a roster this young, it’s become apparent there’s a need for quality veterans. Eric Gordon (a close former teammate of Harden who’s open to rejoining the team in the future) privately and publicly bemoaned Houston’s lack of experience around the youthful core for months, before being traded to the Los Angeles Clippers last month. But for what it’s worth, the front office plans to address those deficiencies in free agency.
“Putting ourselves in a position where hopefully one, the guys currently on the roster get a better sense of what it takes to win,” Rockets GM Rafael Stone told The Athletic in a recent interview. “And then two, we’re able to supplement them with some people who have experience in doing it and more know-how, and that, that ends up being a good blend. That’s a really exciting prospect for everybody in the organization.” Houston’s roster to-do list is lengthy at this stage of their rebuild, which is either a positive or negative trend depending on your point of view. This group needs balance. This group needs two-way wings, shooting and a defensive presence in the middle. But more importantly, they need an elite point guard. The Rockets are the worst team in the league at taking care of the ball, coughing it up nearly 17 times a game. Harden’s 3.15 assist-to-turnover ratio is bested by only the likes of Chris Paul, Tyrese Haliburton and Fred Van Vleet among starting point guards, none of whom are having better scoring or overall offensive seasons than him. Defensively, Harden’s been a positive as a 76er according to Cleaning the Glass, an interesting twist in the narrative against him in that respect. Harden would be nothing short of a godsend for a group lacking in self-confidence, organization, structure and swagger. From a locker room perspective, potentially inserting Harden during a pivotal offseason could have positive long-lasting effects. Sources close to Harden highlight 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey as an example of the veteran’s mentorship and leadership, taking the young talent under his wing and retooling his mindset, propelling a third season worthy of Sixth Man of the Year honors. It’s also no coincidence Embiid’s best seasons have coincided with Harden’s arrival in Philadelphia. His presence has meant everything, even if it’s gone surprisingly under the radar. This isn’t the same Harden that for years operated in a heliocentric system both mentally and schematically. Somewhere along the lines, whether it was him realizing the wear and tear of averaging or flirting with 30 points a night, the rising talent of players around the league or a juxtaposition of the two, Harden’s mentality shifted. One source with ties to his Rockets days described him as “incredibly driven.” He’s now in his Chris Paul/Phoenix Suns era, a highly talented player willing to defer to fit in more and amplify others as opposed to making everyone fit around him. “He’s one of the best point guards in the league right now,” one source said. “Without a doubt. That’s a big step towards winning.” Players like Green and Jabari Smith Jr. — another player Harden is fond of — would benefit greatly from his tutelage, although they’re some tiers below Devin Bookerand Miles Bridges. The former would require a significant jump from his second to third season akin to Booker, but Harden would undoubtedly improve Green’s efficiency, making him a more lethal off-ball weapon while still giving room for him to spread his own wings with the ball in his hands. As plausible and perhaps even likely as a potential Harden and Rockets reunion appears to be, a few more factors can’t be ignored. Sources close to the process say the Rockets are confident they’ll land a meeting with Harden should he declare for free agency as expected, but what comes next? For nearly a decade, Harden was used to a certain level of freedom and control, both on and off the floor. Would the Fertittas and Stone be willing to go down that path again? If this Harden 2.0 version is here to stay — and by all accounts, it is — haggling over semantics seems less important. “He wants to play basketball and wants to win,” one source with the team previously said. “If you can’t handle that, you’re in the wrong business.” Morey and the Sixers, meanwhile, have evidence this new-and-improved Harden can lead and thrive in Philly. So is this pressure being applied by the Houston possibility merely a negotiating ploy, or a true sign of his affection for the Rockets life? There is, it seems, a blurring of the lines between leverage and love. “Everything in this league is leverage,” one source close to Harden said. “But that doesn’t mean he won’t go to Houston.” Conversely, Harden will have a lot to consider by the time July rolls around. What the Sixers do in the playoffs, and how that leaves him feeling about what comes next? How healthy are the partnerships with Embiid and Rivers? Did Sixers management put the full max on the table? What does the rest of the Rockets roster look like, and can they somehow find a way to go from cellar dweller to contender in one season? What does the rest of Harden’s market look like beyond the Sixers and Rockets? The answers will come with time. And depending on what happens this summer, we’ll know if that final phone call between Harden and the Rockets was plot or prescient.
Good work. It detailed exactly why he did not move closer to the ship and his questionable off court antics which was tolerated by the organization.
As long as we don’t give the guy the keys to the franchise again. Can’t be paying him $40 mil a year either. This has to be a compromise on both side so he can get a long but non max contract
There's no way he comes back for anything less than a max contract and the keys to the franchise, I get not liking that, but it's best to be prepared for it because those are the terms on the table. Harden will once again be calling all the shots and overnight we'll never hear a peep about "accountability" again despite things in that department getting worse.
what its not our money but what say 25-30 mill ****it 33 mill five years thats good bank + Adidas, im tired of these old guards with 40-50 million dollar contracts
but harden is a legend in htown and the best free agent pg in the league, you pray for victor and sign harden
The reason not to is because it'll be the down side of his career, and even in his prime he was a legendary quitter and choke artist.....and on top of that, he's the reason for the "culture" problems in the organization....he started that BS when he was here. So you'll be handing over control of every aspect of the entire franchise to a guy who destroyed arguably the best team in franchise history with his demands who is now on the downside of his career who has forced his way out of 2 teams already. In 4 years you'll be paying a 37 year old Harden north of 50 mil a year, quite a bit of cap space for someone who is likely to be washed by then. I mean, it's certainly not without risk.
i mean roll the dice we need a pg who typically age well in the game and we get one of the best, i guess everyone who hasnt one a chip yet would be considered a choke artist, doesnt demean their game, harden will be able to pass the ball till stockton age at least
I remember reading that he did work out with Jalen this past offseason...damn, if he comes here Jalen is already recruiting all-star talent. I can't imagine this board if we get Harden and keep Sengun, this place is going to be a warzone.
if we draft Wemby and acquire Harden, I’m offering Sengun to BK for Bridges or Toronto for Siakam Harden Green Bridges Bari Wemby Harden Green Bari Siakam Wemby excellent mix of vets who are damn good players and young guys still ascending and developing
