With James Harden‘s new contract complete, the Sixers will be able to get a long-term look at what he can do for the organization. Harden played just 21 regular season games after being acquired from Brooklyn at the trade deadline, and there were concerns about his conditioning during that time. He dealt with a hamstring injury that affected his workout schedule last summer, but now he has the benefit of a full, healthy offseason and some familiarity with his teammates heading into training camp.
President of basketball operations Daryl Morey, who was determined to reacquire Harden after having him in Houston, expressed his delight about the new deal in a press release distributed by the Sixers.
“He is one of the best scorers and passers to ever play, and his knowledge of the game allows him to dissect defenses and make everyone around him better,” Morey said. “James’ commitment to winning continues to resonate throughout our organization, and I believe we’ve only scratched the surface of what’s possible in his partnership with Joel (Embiid) and this talented roster. This is an exciting time for our franchise.”
There’s more from Philadelphia:
- Kyle Neubeck of the Philly Voice sets some goals for Harden for the upcoming season, which include helping the Sixers build a top-eight offense, playing at least 70 games, and leading the NBA in assists. Neubeck notes that Harden was second in assists last season and should benefit from the additional shooting provided by P.J. Tucker and Danuel House.
- De’Anthony Melton, who was acquired from the Grizzlies in a draft-night trade, could be a major bargain, Neubeck adds in a mailbag column. Melton’s ability to guard multiple types of players and his versatility on offense make it easy to fit him into numerous lineups. Neubeck notes that Melton was extremely effective in Memphis when he was paired with another ball-handler, and he figures to see a lot of minutes beside both Harden and Tyrese Maxey.
- Isaiah Joe and Trevelin Queen are likely to battle for the final roster spot in training camp, Neubeck adds. Queen holds a $330K guarantee for the upcoming season, along with a non-guaranteed deal for 2023/24. Joe will have a fully guaranteed $1.78MM salary if he remains on the roster through October 23.
Does Harden’s gym not stay open the entire year? I don’t get how an injury 14 months ago is an excuse for his conditioning 3 months ago.
Nagging look it up in the dictionary my friend.
Lol this man has never had an injury before, bet he thinks we’re video games and it doesn’t affect us day in day out.
Honestly, I think that the Sixers should trade Milton and Korkmaz for a backup big. If they could somehow get Kelly Olynyk that would be awesome. I’m a big Queen believer, so I want to see him and the other three second round guys (Reed, Bassey, and Joe), make the roster
Never pay fat athletes.
Zion disagrees
It’s an easy solve. Trade Thybulle, Korkmaz, Springer, and Shake for 1 player like J Rich / Bullock / Burks.
Then sign Morris if he’s out of his coma. That gives them 14 and an open roster spot throughout the season.
Embiid – Reed – Bassey
Tobias – Morris
Tucker – Niang – Queen
Harden – (JRich/Burks/Bullock) – House – Joe
Maxey – Melton
Easy except no one, and I mean no one, wants Korkmaz, Springer, and Shake.
I agree trade for a SG and sign Markieff Morris.
Although I think JRich has had his turn here, Bullock is worth more than that but Burks could be an good shout. But I meant here also the likes of Malik Beasley, Eric Gordon, Jeremy Lamb, etc etc
Then as for the depth chart I’d have House as the back up SF, Niang back up PF and Morris back up Centre. Then Joe, Queen, Reed and Bassey make up the depth. But even from these guys I only really value Queen and Reed.
Spurs are tanking, and Pistons aren’t a contender so Burks does nothing for them whereas Tybulle would be a good get for either. No one is truly ideal, it’s more about the best available guys. J Rich, Burks are the 3 and D guys available. Bullock seems like he may be available for the right package for Mavs.
Beasley plays no D, Gordon hard caps them, Lamb is a FA so that’s easy of they have a roster spot post-trade. I would rather have Clarkson than Beasley if I was trading with Utah due to contract and hes a better scorer. And I’d rather have Bojan than Gordon if I was gonna hard cap.
Shake averaged 11 off the bench last year and is on a bargain contract and Springer was a 1st round pick with loads of potential
J rich is a free agent if I’m not mistaken
He’s under contract for one more years with the Spurs.
Melton gunna eat lots of hot fast meals as prepared by Fat Harden
If Simmons does not get his sh*t together this year Morey should get GM of the year for obtaining Harden by trading a nonfunctioning skin sack of muscles, bones and nervous tissue to BKN. Genius move!
Might as well hand him said award now.
Even though I can’t stand Simmons for being a quitter, my gut tells me that the Sixers got fleeced giving away draft picks along with Curry. The rebuttal would be that their late round picks, but some teams have competent front offices to trust.
Neither Simmons nor draft picks were going to help Embiid win now so their present value is zero. Harden may still have a couple of good years left and complements Embiid better than Simmons did.
They should get rid of Korkmaz and potentially even move Shake Milton now that they have Melton. Both Joe and Queen should probably make the roster, and if they get rid of Joe, it just shows how dumb these people are, as Doc rivers somehow goes into year 3 there