James Harden And Houston Rockets Linked In Possible Reunion After This Season
The Philadelphia 76ers are 17-12 so far this season which is third in the Atlantic Division and fifth in the Eastern Conference. Injuries have hit the Sixers hard this season and their best players have all missed time. One of those players is James Harden who’s missed 14 games already this season and had played in 15. The ten-time all-star’s ultimate goal is to win an NBA championship, but he’s been linked back to the Houston Rockets.
Harden is in his second season with the Sixers and has played just 36 games. Fifteen of them were last year and the other 21 were after the trade deadline when the Sixers traded Ben Simmons, Seth Curry and two unprotected first-round picks for James Harden. If he can’t win a championship this season, insiders have linked Harden back to the Rockets.
NBA betting sites have the Sixers at (+2000) to win the Finals this season.
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If this season fails, James Harden could be back in Houston for 2023-24
James Harden spent nine seasons with the Houston Rockets and that is where he played 621 of his 957 career games. This is also the franchise where Harden was a three-time scoring champion and won the 2017-18 league MVP. Earlier this season, Harden opened up about how the only thing left for him to do is to win a title in the NBA. He left Houston to pursue that dream with the Nets and then left them after two seasons and went to his home now, the Sixers.
On an ESPN podcast, Tim McMahon said that a James Harden return to Houston next season is within the realm of possibility.
“They’ve got like, $60 million, potentially, in cap space this summer. This is not Oklahoma City, Salt Lake City, or San Antonio. This is Houston, a potentially desirable market for free agents… There’s already been a lot of gossip and dot-connecting, ‘Hey, if things don’t work out in Philly, keep an eye out on James Harden back to Houston.’”- Tim McMahon
McMahon mentions how this may seem farfetched for both parties, but crazier things have indeed happened in the NBA. The Sixers will be at home tonight to face the Detroit Pistons.
Source: Basketball Insider
