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According to a report by The Athletic's Kelly Iko, the Houston Rockets are unlikely to sign James Harden to a max contract.
Kelly was appearing on a June 13 episode of the "HoopsHype podcast" and said the following:
“Do I think the Rockets are willing to give him the max? No.
"They want to add at least three or four veterans, and you can’t do that conceivably if you’re giving Harden upwards of $45-50 million. If it comes to a deal in the range of $30-33 million, I can see that. Then, you still have enough to get another marquee guy or two."
James Harden has been a rumored target for the Houston Rockets in recent weeks as the Western Conference outfit look to expedite their rebuild and return to the playoffs. As such, Houston moved to secure Ime Udoka as their new head coach heading into next season, and are expected to be active in the offseason.
Harden has been rumored to hold interest in a potential return to Houston, should he choose to leave the Philadelphia 76ers this summer. However, if the 2018 MVP is truly focused on winning a championship, his best chance will come with Joel Embiid and new coach Nick Nurse.
During the 2022-23 regular season, Harden averaged 21 points, 10.7 assists, and 6.7 rebounds while shooting 44.1% from the field and 38.5% from deep. As such, James Harden is still viewed among the best guards in the NBA and will be unlikely to take a significant discount on what could be the last big contract of his career.
Doc Rivers discusses Joel Embiid's growth and coaching James Harden
On June 13, the Philadelphia Voice's Kyle Neubeck released an interview with former Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers. During the interview, Rivers discussed the growth he saw within Joel Embiid's game over the three years he was in leading the franchise.
"I stayed on him daily, he has the ability to make his teammates better," Rivers said. "And when he does that, you look at our games this year, when he did that and dominated, hard to go away from Joel Embiid. He's just got to do that on a consistent basis. Not just on the court, but also off the court.
"Just be around your guys and spend time with your guys and let them know that you love them because they love you. And so I thought Jo in the three years you could see the growth there. I think we forget how young he is, we also forget his first two years he didn't play."
Speaking about James Harden, Rivers said:
"What makes James great is that he's one of the best individual players to ever play the game - ballhandling, handles the ball, dribbles the ball, attacks - but that also allows you to attack, if you know where he's at, you know where the ball is at."
If the Philadelphia 76ers are going to have any chance of winning an NBA Championship in the coming years, it will be with the duo of James Harden and Joel Embiid.
As such, Daryl Morey and the Sixers' front office will likely be doing everything they can to convince Harden that his future remains in the City of Brotherly Love.
