NBA star James Harden has just experienced yet another season that has ended in disappointment.
His Philadelphia 76ers had the third-best record in the Eastern Conference and looked to have an excellent chance of reaching the NBA Finals, but they blew a 3-2 series lead in the second round of the playoffs and got eliminated by the Boston Celtics.
There have been whispers that Harden may leave the Sixers this summer as a free agent, as the team may not want to keep him and he may want to depart himself.
The team often mentioned as a potential destination for him has been the Houston Rockets, one of his former squads, but Brian Geltzeiler reports that the Phoenix Suns are also on his radar.
With free agency pending for James Harden, I’m hearing there is another team prominently on is radar in addition to Houston. That team is the Phoenix Suns.
— Brian Geltzeiler (@BGeltzNBA) May 15, 2023
Suns fans don’t seem to like the idea of adding the former 2018 regular season MVP.
Please no. Anyone else man
— Eve from ASU (@AsuEve) May 15, 2023
We are about to turn into the Brooklyn Suns adding Kylie and Harden
— Tesmer928 (@Tesmer928) May 15, 2023
At what point were you watching Phoenix’s loss to Denver and saying “what this team needs is another ball dominant offensive player who is aging and doesn’t play defense?”
Hardens great reg season, but off ball (if you run off thru Booker), Harden is way less valuable.
— SportsFan (@nbasportsfan30y) May 15, 2023
This fan, however, seems OK with the idea of going after Harden.
Gimme Kyrie but I wouldn’t be mad w harden
— kangaroo jesus (jack) (@slimxphx) May 15, 2023
Over the years, Harden has started to develop a star-crossed reputation, mainly because of his bad track record in playoff elimination games.
He played outstanding ball in Philly’s Game 1 and Game 4 wins versus the Celtics, but with a chance to advance, he shot just 4-of-16 in Game 6 and 3-of-11 in Game 7.
Fans may also remember his 5-of-17 clunker in Game 7 of the second round against the Milwaukee Bucks two years ago and his 12-of-29 performance in Game 7 of the 2018 Western Conference Finals.
In the latter contest, he shot just 2-of-13 from 3-point range as his Rockets gave up a 3-2 series lead to the Golden State Warriors and were sent packing.
At age 33, Harden is no longer the attractive commodity he was just a few years ago.
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