Free agency starts / reported signings (merged)

[Birdman]

Harden never satisfied..no way I would want him on the team

[W8ting2McHale]

Harden likely opted in because he wanted to go to the clippers but they didnt have enough money in free agency to sign him.

If the sixers renege on trading him because they dont like the packages and keep him this could be a disaster. Harden is not the type of guy to be professional and perform in this scenario

Harden could have opted out to force the Sixers to do a sign-and-trade.  Harden likely opted in because he found out there wasn't much of a market for him.  The Clippers don't even appear that interested in acquiring him.  Harden could certainly act unprofessional if he doesn't get traded but that would likely reduce the already limited market for him when he hits free agency next offseason.

Harden is just never happy, kind of like some Celtics fans.  Get a big contract, not happy because the team around him is bad.  Get traded to a contending team with drama queens, not happy about all the drama.  Get traded again, take a discount to help the team bring in players, still don't win a title, still not happy.

I can understand his frustration.  He is running out of real estate to win a title.  I think Philly is as good a place for him as anywhere, unless he expects to pull a Durant to GSW and end up on Denver or something like that.

Has there ever been an era like this in the NBA with so many all-star guards/ball handlers dictating actions and causing off season chaos?

A lot of speculation around Harden, Kyrie, with Westbrook, Simmons and Lillard to a lesser extent over the past few years, while all-star bigs like Joker, Giannis and Embiid remain stable.

Shaq had a moment and Durant caused a couple, but not as a position group in mass. It seems like bigs repeatedly forcing moves would have more clout and create more challenges but right now it’s the little ball hogs.

[Who]

When the Portland Trail Blazers evaluated trade options with the No. 3 overall pick, Zach Lowe reports that no "sensible deal" ever presented itself.

The New Orleans Pelicans and Toronto Raptors weren't ready on draft day to pivot away from Zion Williamson, Pascal Siakam, or OG Anunoby, sources tell Lowe.

The Los Angeles Clippers push back on the idea they genuinely explored Paul George's trade value, but trading away the pick that became Scoot Henderson for a 33-year-old with injury issues would be problematic for the Blazers.

The Brooklyn Nets never showed interest in trading Mikal Bridges for No. 3.

The Raptors are greatly over-rating Anunoby. Ridiculous that they passed up on the #3 in order to keep him. Scoot would have been tremendous for Toronto.

I expect they'll regret not trading Siakam for the #3 either. That is more of an understandable proven talent to unproven prospect risk / reward scenario but given Siakam's contract demands, the likely poor trade market he has, and Toronto's abundance of forwards ... this too will likely age as a poor decision.

It too will be interesting to see how the Mikal Bridges and Paul George decisions age.

LAC are unhappy with underperforming these last few years and the injury proneness of their stars. I doubt they will ever again receive an offer as good as the #3 pick for PG13. It would have given them a huge boost in rebuilding their team. Instead they have doubled down and gone all-in again. Taking a big risk with age and injury luck. We'll have to wait and see if that works out for them.

I understand the Mikal Bridges one because he showed major signs late last season. I am still not fully convinced by him as a #1 or #2 guy on a team. We shall see.

Zion as a non-starter for the #3 is fair. I presume this also means they have no interest in trading Zion for Lillard or other such trades. That they still have enough belief in his talent that they will be patient and see if he can stay injury free.

The only one I cannot fathon is Anunoby. He is a very good player but he is no All-Star. He is a top 50 player in the league. It was a ridiculous decision to make him unavailable and pass up on the chance to take Scoot Henderson. Raptors fans are going to regret that one for years to come.

[Birdman]

Harden never satisfied..no way I would want him on the team

[Vermont Green]

When the Portland Trail Blazers evaluated trade options with the No. 3 overall pick, Zach Lowe reports that no "sensible deal" ever presented itself.

The New Orleans Pelicans and Toronto Raptors weren't ready on draft day to pivot away from Zion Williamson, Pascal Siakam, or OG Anunoby, sources tell Lowe.

The Los Angeles Clippers push back on the idea they genuinely explored Paul George's trade value, but trading away the pick that became Scoot Henderson for a 33-year-old with injury issues would be problematic for the Blazers.

The Brooklyn Nets never showed interest in trading Mikal Bridges for No. 3.

The Raptors are greatly over-rating Anunoby. Ridiculous that they passed up on the #3 in order to keep him. Scoot would have been tremendous for Toronto.

I expect they'll regret not trading Siakam for the #3 either. That is more of an understandable proven talent to unproven prospect risk / reward scenario but given Siakam's contract demands, the likely poor trade market he has, and Toronto's abundance of forwards ... this too will likely age as a poor decision.

It too will be interesting to see how the Mikal Bridges and Paul George decisions age.

LAC are unhappy with underperforming these last few years and the injury proneness of their stars. I doubt they will ever again receive an offer as good as the #3 pick for PG13. It would have given them a huge boost in rebuilding their team. Instead they have doubled down and gone all-in again. Taking a big risk with age and injury luck. We'll have to wait and see if that works out for them.

I understand the Mikal Bridges one because he showed major signs late last season. I am still not fully convinced by him as a #1 or #2 guy on a team. We shall see.

Zion as a non-starter for the #3 is fair. I presume this also means they have no interest in trading Zion for Lillard or other such trades. That they still have enough belief in his talent that they will be patient and see if he can stay injury free.

The only one I cannot fathon is Anunoby. He is a very good player but he is no All-Star. He is a top 50 player in the league. It was a ridiculous decision to make him unavailable and pass up on the chance to take Scoot Henderson. Raptors fans are going to regret that one for years to come.

I think what they are saying is that POR did not want to trade Henderson for Paul George.  I wouldn't either.

As to the Toronto deals, my guess is that POR was looking for something like #13 + Anunoby for #3 and maybe some bad contract.  This to me seems reasonable enough for both teams, if in fact it was really discussed.

And yeah, Zion makes any trade complicated.  I can understand that nothing was worked out.

[Roy H.]

I'm curious why Portland didn't pursue any of the other guys that were available.  Was Beal a lock for the Suns, and KP for the Celtics?  Or could the Blazers have gotten in on that? 

What about Zach Lavine?  Did they have the ammunition to land Lavine, presumably without moving the #3?

The narrative is acting like Scoot is the only potential trade asset, and that seems odd to me.  It's obviously hard to project what would have happened, but what if:

Simons + Nurkic + draft picks for Zach Lavine

Resign Jeremy Grant

Sign Oubre / Christian Wood with MLE

Either keep Little and Thybulle, or package them in trade

Resign Drew Eubanks

Eubanks / Wood
Grant / Murray
Sharpe /Oubre
Lavine /
Lillard / Scoot

If Lillard is telling the truth that he wants to be competitive, rather than just on a front-runner, would that have appeased him?  The MLE could have been offered to any other combination of players. 

Trying to build while being a playoff team can sometimes be hard, but would this have been a feasible alternative?

[celticsclay]

When the Portland Trail Blazers evaluated trade options with the No. 3 overall pick, Zach Lowe reports that no "sensible deal" ever presented itself.

The New Orleans Pelicans and Toronto Raptors weren't ready on draft day to pivot away from Zion Williamson, Pascal Siakam, or OG Anunoby, sources tell Lowe.

The Los Angeles Clippers push back on the idea they genuinely explored Paul George's trade value, but trading away the pick that became Scoot Henderson for a 33-year-old with injury issues would be problematic for the Blazers.

The Brooklyn Nets never showed interest in trading Mikal Bridges for No. 3.

The Raptors are greatly over-rating Anunoby. Ridiculous that they passed up on the #3 in order to keep him. Scoot would have been tremendous for Toronto.

I expect they'll regret not trading Siakam for the #3 either. That is more of an understandable proven talent to unproven prospect risk / reward scenario but given Siakam's contract demands, the likely poor trade market he has, and Toronto's abundance of forwards ... this too will likely age as a poor decision.

It too will be interesting to see how the Mikal Bridges and Paul George decisions age.

LAC are unhappy with underperforming these last few years and the injury proneness of their stars. I doubt they will ever again receive an offer as good as the #3 pick for PG13. It would have given them a huge boost in rebuilding their team. Instead they have doubled down and gone all-in again. Taking a big risk with age and injury luck. We'll have to wait and see if that works out for them.

I understand the Mikal Bridges one because he showed major signs late last season. I am still not fully convinced by him as a #1 or #2 guy on a team. We shall see.

Zion as a non-starter for the #3 is fair. I presume this also means they have no interest in trading Zion for Lillard or other such trades. That they still have enough belief in his talent that they will be patient and see if he can stay injury free.

The only one I cannot fathon is Anunoby. He is a very good player but he is no All-Star. He is a top 50 player in the league. It was a ridiculous decision to make him unavailable and pass up on the chance to take Scoot Henderson. Raptors fans are going to regret that one for years to come.

This article definitely doesn’t say the raptors refused og for scoot (in fact a straight up deal is literally impossible for salary matching purposes. So we can’t really say how they rate og without knowing what the actual offer was. Was it nurkics bad contract and three first rounders including a lottery pick this year? The blazers obviously wanted scoot quite a bit cause they were willing to basically end the same era to get him.

[Birdman]

Moses Brown? Always been a fan of his wouldn’t mind seeing him as  a 3rd stringer

[JBcat]

I'm curious why Portland didn't pursue any of the other guys that were available.  Was Beal a lock for the Suns, and KP for the Celtics?  Or could the Blazers have gotten in on that? 

What about Zach Lavine?  Did they have the ammunition to land Lavine, presumably without moving the #3?

The narrative is acting like Scoot is the only potential trade asset, and that seems odd to me.  It's obviously hard to project what would have happened, but what if:

Simons + Nurkic + draft picks for Zach Lavine

Resign Jeremy Grant

Sign Oubre / Christian Wood with MLE

Either keep Little and Thybulle, or package them in trade

Resign Drew Eubanks

Eubanks / Wood
Grant / Murray
Sharpe /Oubre
Lavine /
Lillard / Scoot

If Lillard is telling the truth that he wants to be competitive, rather than just on a front-runner, would that have appeased him?  The MLE could have been offered to any other combination of players. 

Trying to build while being a playoff team can sometimes be hard, but would this have been a feasible alternative?

My one question in all this is giving up Simons, and getting Lavine in  return really all that much of a game changer. Simons is an extremely talented young player, that just finished his first year starting averaging 21 points a game and is trending up.

I think part of the issue is a Simons plus Nurkic idea isn’t going to get you real difference maker like a healthy Zion. You would have to include Sharpe or Scoot as well, and it’s understandable Portland doesn’t want to include them in trades.

I think Portland is better off building around their 3 young guards, and whatever they get back from Dame.

[celticsclay]

"I was speaking to a bunch of folks about [Harden] Sunday evening," said Dave McMenamin on the Dan Patrick Show. "The signals right now is that he will be back with the Philadelphia 76ers."

Harden had a softer than expected free agency market with the Houston Rockets pivoting to Fred VanVleet. The Sixers have evaluated trade options for Harden, but there doesn't appear to be a return package for him they would seriously entertain.

"As of right now, with certainly no momentum appearing on a deal to the Los Angeles Clippers. And Philadelphia obviously still needing what he does without finding a replacement for him. It looks like there's a pathway for him to come back to the Sixers next year."

Yeah, this is looking the most likely end scenario at this point. Just no value in the trade market for Harden. Best to keep him and let him leave as a FA next summer. They have other big contracts coming off the books then as well creating large cap space to retool around Embiid and keep contending.


This is also similar to what I see for Damian Lillard (weak trade market, no high quality offers only mediocre ones) however the team situation is different.

POR are not a title contender like Philly. They are not even a playoff team or even a real playoff hopeful. They are a lottery team. So keeping Lillard is a win-now move like keeping Harden is but it has little justification for the benefit of the team. POR are better off trading him for a weak package and rebuilding properly. Using whatever future picks / prospects they can get for Lillard. Bottoming out. Creating opportunity for Scoot to takeover at PG and be the new franchise player. Get a higher lotto pick next summer. The team will turn around their rebuild quicker this way.

Have people somehow forgotten how harden performed for his last two teams when he didn’t want to be there? He showed up extremely overweight on the rockets and said his teammates were not good enough in a press conference forcing their hand. For the nets he just stopped regularly being in contact with the coach and front office and went off to Atlantic City or Vegas after requesting the trade. Now he will magically be a good soldier for a team he believes broke their agreement? Really crazy idea to me, especially when you consider he has less at risk than ever. In the past when he did all this stuff he was still trying to land a 4 or 5 year max contract down the line. Now reentering free agency at 34 or 35 he isn’t gonna get much more than a two year 45 million dollar deal even if he plays great

I saw somewhere that Philly offered Harden a choice of a 1yr $40mil deal or a 2yr $80mil deal. Whichever he preferred.

That is what set him off. The lack of a long term deal. Just an interesting point of comparison with what Harden is likely looking at next summer which likely will be no better than what Philly are offering right now.

Harden reiterated his trade request today. It seems possible he may start season with them but the idea
Of him being a good soldier for the whole year seems a bit ridiculous to me. Here is the story

"I'll just be clear with you: he felt betrayed," added Shelburne. "He felt like he was going to get a max extension from them either last year and decided 'Okay, I'll leave some money on the table.' And then this year when they were not communicating with him before free agency, because they have the largest tampering fine in league history. But generally speaking, there was no wink or not saying we're going to take care of you. He got upset and that's why he opted in rather than letting it play out and reach free agency."

[tazzmaniac]

"I was speaking to a bunch of folks about [Harden] Sunday evening," said Dave McMenamin on the Dan Patrick Show. "The signals right now is that he will be back with the Philadelphia 76ers."

Harden had a softer than expected free agency market with the Houston Rockets pivoting to Fred VanVleet. The Sixers have evaluated trade options for Harden, but there doesn't appear to be a return package for him they would seriously entertain.

"As of right now, with certainly no momentum appearing on a deal to the Los Angeles Clippers. And Philadelphia obviously still needing what he does without finding a replacement for him. It looks like there's a pathway for him to come back to the Sixers next year."

Yeah, this is looking the most likely end scenario at this point. Just no value in the trade market for Harden. Best to keep him and let him leave as a FA next summer. They have other big contracts coming off the books then as well creating large cap space to retool around Embiid and keep contending.


This is also similar to what I see for Damian Lillard (weak trade market, no high quality offers only mediocre ones) however the team situation is different.

POR are not a title contender like Philly. They are not even a playoff team or even a real playoff hopeful. They are a lottery team. So keeping Lillard is a win-now move like keeping Harden is but it has little justification for the benefit of the team. POR are better off trading him for a weak package and rebuilding properly. Using whatever future picks / prospects they can get for Lillard. Bottoming out. Creating opportunity for Scoot to takeover at PG and be the new franchise player. Get a higher lotto pick next summer. The team will turn around their rebuild quicker this way.

Have people somehow forgotten how harden performed for his last two teams when he didn’t want to be there? He showed up extremely overweight on the rockets and said his teammates were not good enough in a press conference forcing their hand. For the nets he just stopped regularly being in contact with the coach and front office and went off to Atlantic City or Vegas after requesting the trade. Now he will magically be a good soldier for a team he believes broke their agreement? Really crazy idea to me, especially when you consider he has less at risk than ever. In the past when he did all this stuff he was still trying to land a 4 or 5 year max contract down the line. Now reentering free agency at 34 or 35 he isn’t gonna get much more than a two year 45 million dollar deal even if he plays great

I saw somewhere that Philly offered Harden a choice of a 1yr $40mil deal or a 2yr $80mil deal. Whichever he preferred.

That is what set him off. The lack of a long term deal. Just an interesting point of comparison with what Harden is likely looking at next summer which likely will be no better than what Philly are offering right now.

Harden reiterated his trade request today. It seems possible he may start season with them but the idea
Of him being a good soldier for the whole year seems a bit ridiculous to me. Here is the story

"I'll just be clear with you: he felt betrayed," added Shelburne. "He felt like he was going to get a max extension from them either last year and decided 'Okay, I'll leave some money on the table.' And then this year when they were not communicating with him before free agency, because they have the largest tampering fine in league history. But generally speaking, there was no wink or not saying we're going to take care of you. He got upset and that's why he opted in rather than letting it play out and reach free agency."

Harden has little leverage.  If he pouts and acts unprofessional, it will just hurt his already reduced market value in free agency next offseason.  Harden isn't an idiot or crazy.  He has all the incentives to be a good soldier.  Note the wording that he has requested a trade not demanded one. 

“I don’t think they’re close on anything. James Harden has spoken to [president] Daryl Morey since the first trade request, and I think there was a cooling off period … They’ve spoken again, and [Harden] still reiterated he wants to be traded. Now, this isn’t a demand, it’s a request. I think the Sixers have said, ‘Okay we will try to trade you,’ but there is no hurry to do this,” Shelburne said. “I think the Sixers understand here that they have the leverage. James has picked up his option, this is an opt-in … He’s going to be a free agent, so at some point, he needs to play, whether that’s in Philadelphia or elsewhere.”

[celticsclay]

"I was speaking to a bunch of folks about [Harden] Sunday evening," said Dave McMenamin on the Dan Patrick Show. "The signals right now is that he will be back with the Philadelphia 76ers."

Harden had a softer than expected free agency market with the Houston Rockets pivoting to Fred VanVleet. The Sixers have evaluated trade options for Harden, but there doesn't appear to be a return package for him they would seriously entertain.

"As of right now, with certainly no momentum appearing on a deal to the Los Angeles Clippers. And Philadelphia obviously still needing what he does without finding a replacement for him. It looks like there's a pathway for him to come back to the Sixers next year."

Yeah, this is looking the most likely end scenario at this point. Just no value in the trade market for Harden. Best to keep him and let him leave as a FA next summer. They have other big contracts coming off the books then as well creating large cap space to retool around Embiid and keep contending.


This is also similar to what I see for Damian Lillard (weak trade market, no high quality offers only mediocre ones) however the team situation is different.

POR are not a title contender like Philly. They are not even a playoff team or even a real playoff hopeful. They are a lottery team. So keeping Lillard is a win-now move like keeping Harden is but it has little justification for the benefit of the team. POR are better off trading him for a weak package and rebuilding properly. Using whatever future picks / prospects they can get for Lillard. Bottoming out. Creating opportunity for Scoot to takeover at PG and be the new franchise player. Get a higher lotto pick next summer. The team will turn around their rebuild quicker this way.

Have people somehow forgotten how harden performed for his last two teams when he didn’t want to be there? He showed up extremely overweight on the rockets and said his teammates were not good enough in a press conference forcing their hand. For the nets he just stopped regularly being in contact with the coach and front office and went off to Atlantic City or Vegas after requesting the trade. Now he will magically be a good soldier for a team he believes broke their agreement? Really crazy idea to me, especially when you consider he has less at risk than ever. In the past when he did all this stuff he was still trying to land a 4 or 5 year max contract down the line. Now reentering free agency at 34 or 35 he isn’t gonna get much more than a two year 45 million dollar deal even if he plays great

I saw somewhere that Philly offered Harden a choice of a 1yr $40mil deal or a 2yr $80mil deal. Whichever he preferred.

That is what set him off. The lack of a long term deal. Just an interesting point of comparison with what Harden is likely looking at next summer which likely will be no better than what Philly are offering right now.

Harden reiterated his trade request today. It seems possible he may start season with them but the idea
Of him being a good soldier for the whole year seems a bit ridiculous to me. Here is the story

"I'll just be clear with you: he felt betrayed," added Shelburne. "He felt like he was going to get a max extension from them either last year and decided 'Okay, I'll leave some money on the table.' And then this year when they were not communicating with him before free agency, because they have the largest tampering fine in league history. But generally speaking, there was no wink or not saying we're going to take care of you. He got upset and that's why he opted in rather than letting it play out and reach free agency."

Harden has little leverage.  If he pouts and acts unprofessional, it will just hurt his already reduced market value in free agency next offseason.  Harden isn't an idiot or crazy.  He has all the incentives to be a good soldier.  Note the wording that he has requested a trade not demanded one. 

“I don’t think they’re close on anything. James Harden has spoken to [president] Daryl Morey since the first trade request, and I think there was a cooling off period … They’ve spoken again, and [Harden] still reiterated he wants to be traded. Now, this isn’t a demand, it’s a request. I think the Sixers have said, ‘Okay we will try to trade you,’ but there is no hurry to do this,” Shelburne said. “I think the Sixers understand here that they have the leverage. James has picked up his option, this is an opt-in … He’s going to be a free agent, so at some point, he needs to play, whether that’s in Philadelphia or elsewhere.”

He probably has had the reputation of being the least disciplined players in the league the last 5 years, even when he is happy. The idea of him being a good soldier and staying fit when he wants to be traded Is a charade I don’t think he can keep for a whole year. He also probably doesn’t help maxey develop at all and they don’t have enough talent as is to win a championship. So what’s the point of having this weird bridge year? Don’t look now but Embid is turning 30 this season.

[Celtics2021]

"I was speaking to a bunch of folks about [Harden] Sunday evening," said Dave McMenamin on the Dan Patrick Show. "The signals right now is that he will be back with the Philadelphia 76ers."

Harden had a softer than expected free agency market with the Houston Rockets pivoting to Fred VanVleet. The Sixers have evaluated trade options for Harden, but there doesn't appear to be a return package for him they would seriously entertain.

"As of right now, with certainly no momentum appearing on a deal to the Los Angeles Clippers. And Philadelphia obviously still needing what he does without finding a replacement for him. It looks like there's a pathway for him to come back to the Sixers next year."

Yeah, this is looking the most likely end scenario at this point. Just no value in the trade market for Harden. Best to keep him and let him leave as a FA next summer. They have other big contracts coming off the books then as well creating large cap space to retool around Embiid and keep contending.


This is also similar to what I see for Damian Lillard (weak trade market, no high quality offers only mediocre ones) however the team situation is different.

POR are not a title contender like Philly. They are not even a playoff team or even a real playoff hopeful. They are a lottery team. So keeping Lillard is a win-now move like keeping Harden is but it has little justification for the benefit of the team. POR are better off trading him for a weak package and rebuilding properly. Using whatever future picks / prospects they can get for Lillard. Bottoming out. Creating opportunity for Scoot to takeover at PG and be the new franchise player. Get a higher lotto pick next summer. The team will turn around their rebuild quicker this way.

Have people somehow forgotten how harden performed for his last two teams when he didn’t want to be there? He showed up extremely overweight on the rockets and said his teammates were not good enough in a press conference forcing their hand. For the nets he just stopped regularly being in contact with the coach and front office and went off to Atlantic City or Vegas after requesting the trade. Now he will magically be a good soldier for a team he believes broke their agreement? Really crazy idea to me, especially when you consider he has less at risk than ever. In the past when he did all this stuff he was still trying to land a 4 or 5 year max contract down the line. Now reentering free agency at 34 or 35 he isn’t gonna get much more than a two year 45 million dollar deal even if he plays great

I saw somewhere that Philly offered Harden a choice of a 1yr $40mil deal or a 2yr $80mil deal. Whichever he preferred.

That is what set him off. The lack of a long term deal. Just an interesting point of comparison with what Harden is likely looking at next summer which likely will be no better than what Philly are offering right now.

Harden reiterated his trade request today. It seems possible he may start season with them but the idea
Of him being a good soldier for the whole year seems a bit ridiculous to me. Here is the story

"I'll just be clear with you: he felt betrayed," added Shelburne. "He felt like he was going to get a max extension from them either last year and decided 'Okay, I'll leave some money on the table.' And then this year when they were not communicating with him before free agency, because they have the largest tampering fine in league history. But generally speaking, there was no wink or not saying we're going to take care of you. He got upset and that's why he opted in rather than letting it play out and reach free agency."

Harden has little leverage.  If he pouts and acts unprofessional, it will just hurt his already reduced market value in free agency next offseason.  Harden isn't an idiot or crazy.  He has all the incentives to be a good soldier.  Note the wording that he has requested a trade not demanded one. 

“I don’t think they’re close on anything. James Harden has spoken to [president] Daryl Morey since the first trade request, and I think there was a cooling off period … They’ve spoken again, and [Harden] still reiterated he wants to be traded. Now, this isn’t a demand, it’s a request. I think the Sixers have said, ‘Okay we will try to trade you,’ but there is no hurry to do this,” Shelburne said. “I think the Sixers understand here that they have the leverage. James has picked up his option, this is an opt-in … He’s going to be a free agent, so at some point, he needs to play, whether that’s in Philadelphia or elsewhere.”

Harden has plenty of leverage.  He can and will tank the Sixers’ season if he doesn’t get his way.  All the stuff you’re quoting is what the Sixers are putting out there to help his trade value, but Philly doesn’t want to waste a season, or at least they shouldn’t want to.  They need to move him.  They don’t have to, it’s true, but they need to.  The Sixers aren’t in a very dominant position relative to Harden.  Maybe a slight advantage, but it depends how much they care about winning this year.

[tazzmaniac]

"I was speaking to a bunch of folks about [Harden] Sunday evening," said Dave McMenamin on the Dan Patrick Show. "The signals right now is that he will be back with the Philadelphia 76ers."

Harden had a softer than expected free agency market with the Houston Rockets pivoting to Fred VanVleet. The Sixers have evaluated trade options for Harden, but there doesn't appear to be a return package for him they would seriously entertain.

"As of right now, with certainly no momentum appearing on a deal to the Los Angeles Clippers. And Philadelphia obviously still needing what he does without finding a replacement for him. It looks like there's a pathway for him to come back to the Sixers next year."

Yeah, this is looking the most likely end scenario at this point. Just no value in the trade market for Harden. Best to keep him and let him leave as a FA next summer. They have other big contracts coming off the books then as well creating large cap space to retool around Embiid and keep contending.


This is also similar to what I see for Damian Lillard (weak trade market, no high quality offers only mediocre ones) however the team situation is different.

POR are not a title contender like Philly. They are not even a playoff team or even a real playoff hopeful. They are a lottery team. So keeping Lillard is a win-now move like keeping Harden is but it has little justification for the benefit of the team. POR are better off trading him for a weak package and rebuilding properly. Using whatever future picks / prospects they can get for Lillard. Bottoming out. Creating opportunity for Scoot to takeover at PG and be the new franchise player. Get a higher lotto pick next summer. The team will turn around their rebuild quicker this way.

Have people somehow forgotten how harden performed for his last two teams when he didn’t want to be there? He showed up extremely overweight on the rockets and said his teammates were not good enough in a press conference forcing their hand. For the nets he just stopped regularly being in contact with the coach and front office and went off to Atlantic City or Vegas after requesting the trade. Now he will magically be a good soldier for a team he believes broke their agreement? Really crazy idea to me, especially when you consider he has less at risk than ever. In the past when he did all this stuff he was still trying to land a 4 or 5 year max contract down the line. Now reentering free agency at 34 or 35 he isn’t gonna get much more than a two year 45 million dollar deal even if he plays great

I saw somewhere that Philly offered Harden a choice of a 1yr $40mil deal or a 2yr $80mil deal. Whichever he preferred.

That is what set him off. The lack of a long term deal. Just an interesting point of comparison with what Harden is likely looking at next summer which likely will be no better than what Philly are offering right now.

Harden reiterated his trade request today. It seems possible he may start season with them but the idea
Of him being a good soldier for the whole year seems a bit ridiculous to me. Here is the story

"I'll just be clear with you: he felt betrayed," added Shelburne. "He felt like he was going to get a max extension from them either last year and decided 'Okay, I'll leave some money on the table.' And then this year when they were not communicating with him before free agency, because they have the largest tampering fine in league history. But generally speaking, there was no wink or not saying we're going to take care of you. He got upset and that's why he opted in rather than letting it play out and reach free agency."

Harden has little leverage.  If he pouts and acts unprofessional, it will just hurt his already reduced market value in free agency next offseason.  Harden isn't an idiot or crazy.  He has all the incentives to be a good soldier.  Note the wording that he has requested a trade not demanded one. 

“I don’t think they’re close on anything. James Harden has spoken to [president] Daryl Morey since the first trade request, and I think there was a cooling off period … They’ve spoken again, and [Harden] still reiterated he wants to be traded. Now, this isn’t a demand, it’s a request. I think the Sixers have said, ‘Okay we will try to trade you,’ but there is no hurry to do this,” Shelburne said. “I think the Sixers understand here that they have the leverage. James has picked up his option, this is an opt-in … He’s going to be a free agent, so at some point, he needs to play, whether that’s in Philadelphia or elsewhere.”

He probably has had the reputation of being the least disciplined players in the league the last 5 years, even when he is happy. The idea of him being a good soldier and staying fit when he wants to be traded Is a charade I don’t think he can keep for a whole year. He also probably doesn’t help maxey develop at all and they don’t have enough talent as is to win a championship. So what’s the point of having this weird bridge year? Don’t look now but Embid is turning 30 this season.

Harden the least disciplined player??  Try Simmons.  Try Kyrie.  Harden wasn't the problem in Brooklyn and he hasn't been a problem in Philly so far. 

What's the point of trading Harden if they can't get a good return?  They certainly don't want to take on out year salary for mediocre players.  Better to let Harden and Harris come off the books and use all that cap space in free agency.  If Harden becomes a problem, they can tell him to stay home.  I've said before that Maxey's development is key to the Sixers championship chances.  I don't think Harden adversely impacts Maxey's development.  Maxey is a shooting guard with secondary ball handling skills.  He's not going to run their half-court offense. 

[cman88]

Lets be honest. Harden is not going to be a good soldier. look at how he acted at the end in Houston.

depends what Philly gets though. this isnt really similar to the Dame situation because Portland has dame under contract for 4 years.

Harden is going to leave next year for nothing. So it depends what they are going to get. I wouldn't take long-term salary. But if you can get picks or something why not