NBA insider Zach Lowe believes James Harden will re-sign with the Philadelphia 76ers this offseason.
Harden is expected to decline his 2023-24 player option with the Sixers to become an unrestricted free agent on June 30.
“The breaks have now been pumped, like slammed on (about Harden going to Houston), around the league to the point that I bet if you poll 50 front office executives, the majority of them would guess he’s going back to Philly,” Lowe said on his podcast. “I don’t know what the hell is going to happen. We’ll see.”
Harden has been heavily linked to going back to the Houston Rockets, but it appears he might stay in Philadelphia with Joel Embiid. “The Beard” averaged 21.0 points, 6.1 rebounds and 10.7 assists in 2023-23 while shooting 44.1% from the field, 38.5% from beyond the arc and 86.7% from the free-throw line. The future Hall of Famer led the NBA in assists per game for the second time in his career.
The Sixers lost to the Boston Celtics in the 2023 Eastern Conference Semifinals in seven games. Doc Rivers was fired as head coach and replaced by Nick Nurse, who won the 2019 championship with the Toronto Raptors.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: James Harden & Philadelphia 76ers Updates
One of the greatest players in NBA history, Harden has career averages of 24.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 7.0 assists with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Rockets, Brooklyn Nets, and Sixers. The 33-year-old could be looking for a long-term contract this offseason since he signed a two-year deal with the Sixers last summer.
“Some fresh hope, perhaps, if you’re rooting for James Harden to stay with the 76ers: There have been some rumbles this week that, despite the undeniably strong lure that a return to Houston holds for Harden, he is said to be giving renewed consideration to staying put,” NBA insider Marc Stein wrote.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: James Harden & Philadelphia 76ers Updates
“There is a loyalty factor for Harden to weigh after Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey spent the bulk of his first 15 months in the City of Brotherly Love trying to acquire him, finally succeeding in February 2022.”
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