The Houston Rockets and James Harden’s camp are split on whether the former MVP will return to Houston this offseason, according to NBA insider Kelly Iko of The Athletic.
Iko, who covers the Rockets, told Michael Scotto of HoopsHype that Harden “is keeping things close to the vest.”
“When you talk to Houston, you get both sides of the equation,” Iko said. “You have guys in the organization that are pretty confident in him returning and others who are skeptical and have their doubts. When you talk to people close to Harden, there are those that say he’s coming back and others that say wait a minute. When you talk to players on the current Rockets roster, there are players that believe he’ll come back, and others are skeptical. The common denominator is James is keeping things close to the vest. He understands that this offseason for him probably won’t come around again where he can make a substantial amount of money.
“Do I think the Rockets are willing to give him the max? No. They want to add at least three or four veterans, and you can’t do that conceivably if you’re giving Harden upwards of $45-50 million. If it comes to a deal in the range of $30-33 million, I can see that. Then, you still have enough to get another marquee guy or two.”
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: James Harden, Philadelphia 76ers & Houston Rockets Updates
Harden is expected to decline his 2023-24 player option with the Philadelphia 76ers and become an unrestricted free agent this offseason. He’s been heavily linked to going back to the Rockets, who have more than $60 million in cap space.
“For Harden, he’s weighing returning home to Houston for family reasons, the chance to have other veterans join him in free agency with all their cap space, and playing with Houston’s young core players versus having the chance to remain with the MVP Joel Embiid and an Eastern Conference where he’s already on a Top 4 contending team,” Scotto said.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: James Harden, Philadelphia 76ers & Houston Rockets Updates
Harden, who turns 34 in August, averaged 21.0 points, 6.1 rebounds and 10.7 assists in 2022-23 for the Sixers. The 10-time All-Star led the NBA in assists per game for the second time in his career.
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