With the NBA offseason officially underway and Nick Nurse now locked in as the new head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, the next order of business for the storied franchise will be addressing the James Harden situation.
All signs have been pointing to Harden leaving the 76ers this summer, with a lot of momentum heading toward the Houston Rockets and their new head coach, Ime Udoka.
The rumors have been swirling for weeks that Harden intends to sign a massive deal with the Rockets this summer and reclaim his spot as the face of the franchise in Houston while potentially taking the next step forward as Udoka’s superstar.
Although the Rockets may have the edge right now, that hasn’t stopped Nurse from making his pitch to Harden to get the former NBA MVP to stay in Philadelphia, as he will be pushing the fact that the 76ers are in a better position to win now, according to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps.
Nick Nurse said he’s talked to James Harden on the phone and plans to meet with him ahead of free agency. His sales pitch? “Winning is the sell.”
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) June 1, 2023
With the 76ers having reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid leading the way in his prime with a veteran squad around him, the 76ers are in a more attractive situation in terms of competing right away.
However, it remains uncertain if winning is Harden’s priority moving forward, as he may be looking to cash in one more time and play in a city where he had the most success, even if that means not necessarily winning games but putting up All-Star-caliber stats.
It’ll be interesting to see how this all pans out, but Nurse might be wasting his breath, as Harden may have already made up his mind.
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