James Harden Appreciation Thread

[GoSixersBro]

You could argue him helping Embiid win MVP hurt our playoff run. But I'm also a realist and we weren't winning either way.

[stormi]

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[the_process]

Forgot to add, thanks to Soften for opting in so we got trade value for him instead of getting nothing. Although he would have gotten nothing also if he didn't opt-in, so that was a win-win.

If James opted out, Morey would've given him something like 40M per. Only question was for how many years.

[Eyeamok]

I wish things could have been handled better and there would have been less drama. But overall I am not mad at James, he helped Maxey grow, he helped Embiid win an MVP, and he is where he wants to be. Good luck James I will be watching the Clippers for the next few years. I'm interested in how he plays during the season and playoffs and what kind of contract he gets in the off season.

[HotelVitale]

Forgot to add, thanks to Soften for opting in so we got trade value for him instead of getting nothing. Although he would have gotten nothing also if he didn't opt-in, so that was a win-win.

If James opted out, Morey would've given him something like 40M per. Only question was for how many years.

I think that report was about last year. Last offseason everyone reported the Sixers were offering a 2-3 year deal, and Harden seemed to want a longer one. The one year pay-cut was the compromise, a make-good season type thing that he didn't make good on.

[76ciology]

Harden is the best thing that happened to the Sixers.

Maxey wouldnt be this good if he didnt learn it from Harden. Stepbacks.. pocket passes.. drawings fouls.. drives..

Embiid wouldnt realize that a team centered around him wouldnt get far which he painfully experienced it during the 2023 playoffs.

Doc Rivers would still apply his stagnant offense with heavy PnR and ISO if he’s still the coach. Which is also the type of offense that Morey likes.

The team wont have a plethora of wings if Harden didnt ask to be traded to the Clippers. Imagine if we just trade him for Bradley Beal or Zach Lavine.

Amor Fati. Treating each and every moment—no matter how challenging—as something to be embraced, not avoided. To not only be okay with it, but love it and be better for it.

[Stanford]

I think there is also a misconception outside of the Sixers fanbase that Harden was bad last year, putting up empty stats. He was absolutely a top 25 player. He contributed to winning. In the regular season.

[mjkvol]

I wish things could have been handled better and there would have been less drama. But overall I am not mad at James, he helped Maxey grow, he helped Embiid win an MVP

All those things, and he might have played a role in getting Rivers fired, for which I'll always be grateful, regardless how small a part it was.

[Eyeamok]

I wish things could have been handled better and there would have been less drama. But overall I am not mad at James, he helped Maxey grow, he helped Embiid win an MVP

All those things, and he might have played a role in getting Rivers fired, for which I'll always be grateful, regardless how small a part it was.

Absolutely people talk about the Boston series. But that Atlanta series was the worse. Yes Ben Simmons does what Ben Simmons does when it matters most. But Doc was just plan horrible in that series and he was still the coach the following year. I hope Doc gets to do some Clippers games. According to him Harden is a large part of why he is not coaching this season. You get those two in a room together and it will sound like this.
"No you were the problem!" "No you were the problem!" "How can I be the problem you had me on a leash...I'm the system!"

[SixthStreet]

I'm not going hate on Harden. I just now went back and watched the second half of the Wizards game and it's clear Maxey picked up a lot from Harden in the year and a half. No way Maxey exhibits this sort of playmaking growth at this age when he didn't show any potential of it at Kentucky and until Harden showed up basically. This is unheard of territory. What a gift on his way out.

[mjkvol]

I wish things could have been handled better and there would have been less drama. But overall I am not mad at James, he helped Maxey grow, he helped Embiid win an MVP

All those things, and he might have played a role in getting Rivers fired, for which I'll always be grateful, regardless how small a part it was.

Absolutely people talk about the Boston series. But that Atlanta series was the worse. Yes Ben Simmons does what Ben Simmons does when it matters most. But Doc was just plan horrible in that series and he was still the coach the following year. I hope Doc gets to do some Clippers games. According to him Harden is a large part of why he is not coaching this season. You get those two in a room together and it will sound like this.
"No you were the problem!" "No you were the problem!" "How can I be the problem you had me on a leash...I'm the system!"

Regardless what moves have been made and what still might be done, replacing Rivers with a legitimate coach from this century will remain the best and most impactful move of Morey's.

[fkd215]

He finally said outright that Morey promised him a max. I wonder if Silver will investigate us a third time. https://theathletic.com/5108424/2023/12/04/james-harden-interview-clippers-sixers-daryl-morey/

[HotelVitale]

He finally said outright that Morey promised him a max. I wonder if Silver will investigate us a third time. https://theathletic.com/5108424/2023/12/04/james-harden-interview-clippers-sixers-daryl-morey/

Here's the relevant text if it's pay-walled for people:

-To clarify, were you told that you would get the max after you gave that money back so they could get P.J. (Tucker) and…
-… De’Anthony Melton. Danuel House.
-But timing-wise, when did Daryl tell you that you’d be getting the max?
-Well, the time that’s important was before the playoffs started (last season). He had conversations with my representation.
(When reached about Harden’s claim, a Sixers team source denied this was the case.)
-So there’s another subplot that I’m hoping you can speak on. We all knew that going back to Houston was a pretty serious possibility for you if you hit free agency, but then they decided against it. It’s been reported that you told them you wanted to go back to being a scoring champ and to go back to being the guy who played that Rockets style basketball, and that it was a turnoff that led to them changing their minds. Is there truth to that?
-Where is the personnel for that on that team? And in the last three or four years, what have I been trying to accomplish (in terms of playmaking)?
(To Harden’s point, he hasn’t averaged 30-plus points since winning his third consecutive scoring title in the 2019-20 season but has averaged at least 10 assists in the last three seasons (including a league-leading 10.7 last season).
You can answer that for yourself. Now the meeting was had, and those conversations about style of play, how I’ve been playing and things like that (took place). But (the idea of) me going out there and averaging 30-something points a game — who wants to do that?
-Who was in the meeting?
Representation, (Rockets) head coach (Ime Udoka). That was it.
...
-Would you change anything about the way you handled the whole situation, leaving Philly?
-Nah, it wasn’t my decision (laughs). So I mean, at that point, you put me in a situation and I’ve got to sit back, survey what’s going on and then make the best decision that’s going to be beneficial for me and my family. Like I just told you, I sacrificed money to come to Philly hoping to retire (there). So when you guys throw a curveball at me, now I’ve got to step back — and I’m not just a guy who’s radical, who’s just gonna do anything. I’m strategic. I think before I react. And a lot of people don’t understand and know that about me, which is fine.
-People don’t know you, James. You know that.
-They don’t know me at all, and I’m fine with that. So with all the stories, you’re never gonna hear me go back (at people) on social media. Eventually, it’s gonna play out.
-I was around you and Daryl so much in Houston through all those years, and I’ll be honest: It’s still just wild to me that your relationship ended like this. You probably had the most unique player-front office relationship…
-Ever.
-Yeah, maybe in the history of the game.
-Yeah. It surprised the hell out of me, you know what I mean? I looked at it like a marriage. We talked about a lot of s—. And we’ve got a lot of s— that, in front of people’s eyes, you don’t know or understand. But instead of (Morey) having a conversation with me (about free agency) or saying, ‘All right James, we don’t want to offer you this, but we have this.’ Then we go back and forth, and that’s a dialogue. But you just ice me out? Then it’s like, you don’t respect me as much as I thought you did. You don’t need people like that, you know what I mean? So it’s just bad karma. People were throwing dirt on my name, but the good guys always win.
-Safe to assume you all still haven’t connected?
-There’s too much money, too much respect (lost) and too much loyalty on my end to even double back (with Morey). There’s nothing to talk about. There’s nothing to talk about. This is real money.

[Negrodamus]

Who cares? Get us past the 2nd round (and it was in hand for multiple games) and the max is yours. Instead, it was botched. A promise doesn't matter. The contract is what matters. Very glad we traded him.

[HotelVitale]

^Nothing surprising to me. Harden looks, well, not super mature (but just in the usual way that lots of players are and that the NBA seems to set people up for), and the claim he makes about the promise being made sounds really weak. Amick asks him point blank about it and he just says 'oh yeah before the playoffs my representation had some conversations,' which does not sound very convincing. Why would Morey make that promise at that time (why would any contract decisions be made then?), why would we talk about a big max that starts at age 34, etc. Just doesn't sound right, either the timing or the way he talked about it. Also that was many months after the promise that was supposedly made in exchange for the paycut that landed them below the tax.

[Tony Franciosa]

Who cares? Get us past the 2nd round (and it was in hand for multiple games) and the max is yours. Instead, it was botched. A promise doesn't matter. The contract is what matters. Very glad we traded him.

Exactly. If he balled out in Game 6 or 7 vs. the Celtics, this is a very different conversation. Good riddance - have fun languishing in LA.

[fkd215]

My concern is that we get picks taken away for tampering. Again. Is Harden's say-so enough proof?

[the_process]

Who cares? Get us past the 2nd round (and it was in hand for multiple games) and the max is yours. Instead, it was botched. A promise doesn't matter. The contract is what matters. Very glad we traded him.

We'll care if the NBA investigates a third time and takes away all the Sixers draft picks for tampering and CBA circumvention.

Just going to hope the league considers this a settled matter.

[the_process]

My concern is that we get picks taken away for tampering. Again. Is Harden's say-so enough proof?

It is not. But if enough teams complain, and why wouldn't they since there is a possible competitive advantage, the league could certainly investigate it yet again. So f****** annoying.

[Jailblazers7]

All I see in that interview is Sam Amick giving Harden a handjob & James continuing to make no sense. Harden is just playing the NBA media for fools because they al crave access. Aaron Rodgers is doing the same thing with the NFL media getting them to report on his “return” like it was ever going to happen.

It is hilarious to me him saying the “the good guys always win” when it’s coming from the biggest loser in NBA history.