is it a good idea to bring back james harden?
This is the rumor made boom this Christmas weekend, and where the NBA planet was discussed. With a player option available this summer, James Harden may consider returning to Houston. But on the Rockets side, the question arises: is this really the best idea…?
When emotions come into play, everything becomes more complicated.
A flood of montages of all kinds descended this Sunday on NBA networks, with James Harden possibly considering a return to Houston in Free Agency 2023. Pictures with bearded man Jalen Green, Kevin Porter Jr, Jabari Smith, Alperen Sengun, trophies and fire, as Rockets fans know how to do. We had that with Paolo Banchero in the last Draft, we saw how it ended.
But at the same time, how not to understand them?
Emotionally, no player has thrilled Houston more than Harden, owner of a tighter fanbase than ever.
It’s an army, literally, ready to defend its favorite player body and soul, until the end of the world and the end of time.
Just reading the title of this article might cause two or three organ failures, as if it questioned James Harden’s level of play.
No, rest assured, the question is not so much about Harden himself, and for that we need to rest the facts.
Therefore, James Harden has a player option that will allow him, possibly, to become a free agent this summer (2023).
If the Playoffs in Philadelphia are a total failure and we wonder what the bearded man will do, there is definitely a scenario where he leaves the Sixers. But we are not there, today or tomorrow. It’s totally imaginary based on a script so the first few letters are barely written. Something that will make Philly fans laugh, and we can’t blame them for doing it.
If James Harden finds himself a free agent and really wants to return to his franchise, the one where he was elected MVP and broke all the records, there are two specific cases.
The first ? A request for a maximum contract, which would allow him to receive almost 200 million dollars again over 4 seasons.
The second ? A slight financial effort, as seen last summer in Philadelphia, dramatically allowed the Sixers to steal PJ Tucker.
The real question on Houston’s side is: how to put their money to good use, at an important crossroads in their rebuild?
Because within a few months, outside observers are aligned to a common point. Rafael Stone and his teammates may have enough cap space to sign 2 contracts in the same summer.
Two contracts max, in the same summer.
A rare financial flexibility, which necessarily attracts attention. And a rare financial flexibility to be careful about it.
So the notion in the beginning, which is the feeling.
It’s obvious on paper that adding a player like James Harden to the young Rockets would be a huge addition, full of excitement and potential. In a world of sport where the heroic comeback is knighted, the bearded man’s return to Houston will form the basis of a wonderful story. The king of this scenario? It was LeBron, proud of his return to his land in 2014, finally winning the NBA champion trophy with the Cavs in 2016. That put him at the top of the greatest stories of the modern era.
And since then, some have been secretly ripping this story apart, hoping to find the next definitive comeback that will make cottagers cry. Russell Westbrook in OKC, Kevin Durant in Seattle, Carmelo Anthony in the Knicks lol, we want to get rid of the old photos while fans hope for a title save. Even in other sports, people’s opium is nostalgia (Cristiano and Manchester United, Fernando Alonzo and Renault).
But to be too drawn to the gem of emotional upheaval, somewhat like Abu in Aladdin, one loses reason.
Reason, or emotion. What should the Rockets do?
If James Harden becomes available on the market this summer, you need to be able to speak firmly, clearly, and accurately. That there is no maximum contract here, and that in the context of a healthy and promising reconstruction, balance is better than abundance. That these young people need help, but there must be no dependency. What we have seen in the past, and led thousands of fans to suffer in the dark.
Yes, the idea of reuniting with James Harden in Houston is heartbreaking, because “all that means”.
But Houston must not lose control of its future, whose foundations are too fresh and unstable. Falling into emotion and the desire for some throwback images at the Toyota Center should not take precedence over current priorities: laying a lasting foundation. So leadership, so seriousness, so responsibility in the big moments. Ideas to which, at times, James Harden did not respond.
Perhaps this scenario doesn’t hold water, with the bearded man extending Philadelphia as he should because that’s where his best chance of a title lies.
Or perhaps, as the Nets learned, a small rumor can actually grow over months to the point of becoming a certainty.
In any case, the Rockets need to keep a cool head to make clear and pragmatic decisions.
Falling into nostalgia and the desire for a shot of Harden in a red jersey will get them nowhere. Nothing more than where they are now.
