The 2023 offseason isn’t going as the Philadelphia 76ers might’ve planned it to be. After suffering a horrific second-round loss in the postseason, James Harden has gone rogue, blasting the franchise and General Manager. During his recent China trip, Harden went viral on social media for his distasteful opinions of Daryl Morey. Apart from calling the front office member a ‘liar’, the Shooting Guard also expressed his strong aversion against the organization by not signing a 76ers jersey that was presented to him. The Harden-Morey fiasco has received reactions from most of the personalities associated with the NBA. Bill Simmons, who has racked up a $100,000,000 net worth, revealed being confused over a rumor from nine months ago amidst all the drama today.
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The 2022-2023 regular season was a tempered success for the Philadelphia 76ers. Finishing 3rd in the Eastern Conference with a 54-28 record, Joel Embiid ended up lifting the Most Valuable Player award.
However, James Harden, who averaged a respectable 21/6.1/10.7 in the regular season, witnessed a dip in his production during the postseason. Averaging fewer points, rebounds, and assists the Beard’s efficiency took a massive hit, seeing a drop of almost 5% in FGs. With Joel Embiid experiencing a similar dip in the postseason, the Sixers eventually flamed out in the second round to bring their season to a disappointing close.
Bill Simmons expresses confusion over James Harden-Houston Rockets rumor from 9 months ago
Several analysts have had different reactions to the ongoing debacle. While some pundits have criticized James Harden for going out of hand, there is a group that believes Daryl Morey is in the wrong. Bill Simmons, in a recent tweet, took no sides. However, the 53-year-old expressed his confusion. According to Simmons, even if Harden was promised a larger contract in the 2023 offseason, why were there rumors during December 2022 that suggested that the former MVP was “strongly considering” rejoining the Houston Rockets?
Apart from sharing an ESPN article, Simmons also shed light upon Adrian Wojnarowski’s inside information regarding the same matter from May 2023. Further, Bill shared ‘The Athletic’s article that suggested a Harden-Rockets reunion. Take a look at his tweet below.
If the rumors were true, Harden would’ve joined his former team. However, he had also displayed indications of wanting a lucrative contract from Daryl Morey and Co. Now that the Rockets acquired Fred VanVleet, Houston no longer wants Harden. Due to that, the 76ers are unlikely to offer him a big contract either, which is likely the reason why the 10-time All-Star has lost his cool.
Unfortunately, no team in the league has been heard of making any moves to acquire the Southpaw apart from the Clippers, who were reportedly looking forward to adding Harden to their lineup. Clearly, the Sixers aren’t satisfied with the deal they are getting in exchange.
Not reporting for training camp and sitting out for games will be an extremely costly decision for the 2012 Sixth Man of the Year. If Harden were to pull off a Ben Simmons-type move, he would lose out on as much as $389,000 per game.
Joel Embiid makes things messier for the Sixers
As if dealing with the entire James Harden scene wasn’t enough, Joel Embiid added to the franchise’s burden. JoJo, who has been associated with the franchise since 2014, has been their go-to guy for the past many years. A few days ago, Embiid removed Philadelphia as his location from his Twitter bio. Take a look at Sean Barnard’s tweet.
The Philadelphia 76ers have a lot to figure out before the training camp ahead of the 2023-2024 season commences. It’ll be interesting how the Pennsylvania side handles both of these delicate situations.
