The Philadelphia 76ers went all-in attempting to win an NBA Championship ahead of the 2022 trade deadline. They decided to pull the trigger on a deal that landed, James Harden, in the City of Brotherly Love, but it was not cheap.
The 76ers surrendered Ben Simmons, ending his saga with the team, along with Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two future first-round picks. That essentially cemented the path that the organization would go down.
With Joel Embiid playing at an MVP level, it made sense to try and add another superstar to the mix to help get the team over the top. Unfortunately, things haven’t gone according to plan with Harden, who has looked like a shell of himself thus far with Philadelphia.
Daryl Morey was taking a risk trading for Harden, who had requested a trade for the second time in just over a year. But, even with the worst-case scenarios they likely went through, they could not have expected things to sour so quickly.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Philadelphia 76ers’ Massive Trade Plans For Star To Pair With James Harden, Joel Embiid?
Without James Harden playing at an MVP level, the 76ers were dead men walking as Embiid was hampered by his own injuries. One executive that spoke to Sports Illustrated was very blunt when discussing the situation involving Harden.
“The decline is evident,” a rival team executive told SI. “You can see it in his ability to create space, to create the shots he would usually generate. He doesn’t have the burst. People aren’t scared of him driving and scoring. They are challenging that step back more frequently. He’s just not the same player.”
James Harden looked sluggish even during his time with the Brooklyn Nets. Some people chalked that up to a rocky offseason full of rehab and him wanting to get traded again, but things didn’t improve with the Philadelphia 76ers. In some regards, they worsened.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Philadelphia 76ers’ Massive Trade Plans For Star To Pair With James Harden, Joel Embiid?
Now Philadelphia has a conundrum on its hands. They parted ways with a lot of assets to acquire him, so allowing him to walk seems unrealistic. But, if they sign him to a long-term deal, his contract has a high likelihood of becoming the worst one in the NBA very quickly. The executive went into more detail about that as well.
“This is going to define Daryl,” said the exec. “The trade has not worked out the way he had hoped. If he messes this up and James leaves, where does that leave them? If he overpays him, how do they build a winner? He knew James better than anybody. He knew his lifestyle, he knew where his body was at. He had to have some level of knowledge about where this was going. He loves the guy. He’s loyal to the guy. I get that. But you have to separate from that when making these decisions.”
Morey may think highly of Harden, but he has to do what is best for the team; his job relies on it. It seems he may have miscalculated things with Harden, as he isn’t the same player that he knew during their time together with the Houston Rockets.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Philadelphia 76ers’ Massive Trade Plans For Star To Pair With James Harden, Joel Embiid?
Morey has to save some face and keep James Harden on the roster but needs to get creative in doing so. Committing max money to him, with how he looked this season, would put the Philadelphia 76ers on a path of being unable to build a winning roster.
