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76ers star James Harden has “a very real chance” to join the Rockets in free agency this summer after previously starring in Houston.
Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden is in the final year of his contract and has an option for free agency.
And there’s a genuine chance he could return to the Houston Rockets, according to ESPN’s NBA insiders Brian Windhorst and Tim MacMahon.
Harden once starred for the Rockets after being traded to the team before the 2012 season before forcing a trade to the Brooklyn Nets after just eight games in 2020.
“I also think the Harden situation is one of the least talked about things with what’s going on here this season,” Brian Windhorst said on his podcast.
We are always guilty of looking ahead. And there has been very little discussion about Harden. Probably because Philly has played very well overall over the past two months.
James Harden has ‘a very real chance’ to rejoin the Houston Rockets in free agency
Harden established himself as one of the best players in the league when he was previously a Rocket.
‘On Christmas day, Woj comes out with this story about Houston wanting to go over Harden and he was like ‘Whoa.’
“Not just that Houston wants to do it, but Houston believes it’s a legitimate possibility and it doesn’t just come out of the blue,” Tim MacMahon said.
‘James Harden still spends a lot of time in Houston. He spends his summers in Houston. He works out at the Rockets facility regularly. It is a very real possibility. And Harden, by the way, never took him down. He just said, ‘I don’t know where that came from.’
“It was kind of a non-denial,” Windhorst added. ‘And so [storyline has] it just left.
As the duo mentioned ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski He had reported on Christmas Harden was “seriously considering” returning to Houston after this season if he decides to leave the Sixers.
Wojnarowski also noted that Harden has “maintained a kind of magnetic attraction to Houston, drawn to the community, the lifestyle and the family” of the city.
Harden also enjoyed astronomical amounts of success in Houston winning MVP during the 2017-18 season and leading the league in scoring in three straight seasons from 2017-2020.
The seven-time All-Pro also recently hired a new agent and the reports could simply be leveraged to secure a lucrative contract this offseason, even if it’s not in Houston.
He was also well known for enjoying the community and nightlife in the local Houston area.