And about as consternating as any similarly decorated player in league history. Irving’s NBA reputation 12 years in is clear: Best handle in the business. Who will welcome the price for Kyrie Irving? But playing his complementary style in the other five, he averaged 13.4 points on 25.4% shooting.Ģ. Does the configuration Philadelphia rolled out this postseason have what’s necessary to get out of the second round for once? If center Joel Embiid repeats his MVP performance and guard Tyrese Maxey takes another leap, will that be enough against an ever-improving East field? Harden’s work against Boston in the semis – 45 points in Game 1 with Embiid sidelined, 42 in Game 4 – showed he still can summon his old self some nights. Staying with the Sixers offers its own level of challenges. Is Harden eager to be that locker room’s “old head,” putting his game on the back burner to serve the young guys? Do his work habits, player-coach relations and off-court preferences holler out “role model” to guide new coach Ime Udoka’s crew from the inside? And if so, how much is Harden worth in that glorified Udonis Haslem role? He seems out of sync with that roster, a basketball generation removed from the core built around Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason, Alperen Sengun and new draftees Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore. Not that the kind of dough Harden will be getting is rough duty in any way, but whether he stays put with the Sixers or moves to the much-speculated-upon destination of Houston, the outcome will be interesting.Ĭertainly, if he goes back to the Rockets, it will be an annuity move for The Beard. Harden, the veteran playmaker who actually reconfigured his game last season to better serve the Philadelphia 76ers’ needs, seems to have reached – weeks before his 34th birthday – the not-so-sweet spot between the notorious rock and the inevitable hard place. » Update: Harden reportedly picks up his player option Does James Harden favor Philly or Houston? And as always, available money seems to dry up fast:ġ. But each could send tremors of some degree across the league. They’re not dominoes in the sense that one will topple into another and trigger a sequence of events. ET won’t provide some mind-boggling negotiations and intriguing relocations. Still, that doesn’t mean the marketplace that opens for business Friday at 6 p.m. Most of the players are of the role variety, with some older stars among the mix. There are fewer superstars among the Class of 2023 free agents than some previous offseasons. James Harden, Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez are among the players who could be on the move.
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