PHILADELPHIA — The most telling moment of James Harden’s introductory press conference with the 76ers came less than a minute in, with Josh Harris – the franchise’s principal owner – laying bare the power dynamic that defines the modern NBA and that will define Harden’s tenure with the team, however long it lasts.
“James,” Harris said, glancing to his right toward Harden, “thank you for choosing Philly to play.”
That’s what Tuesday afternoon’s gathering in Camden, N.J., was: an acknowledgment, and for Harris and the others on the dais, a celebration of Harden’s decision to grant the Sixers permission to pursue a championship. No one should be under any illusions about how this trade went down or what, for Harden and the Sixers, is now at stake. Harden allowed Daryl Morey to trade for him, and in the best-case scenario for the Sixers, he will allow Doc Rivers to coach him, and he will allow Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, and Tyrese Maxey to do their best to complement him on the court.
A half hour earlier and 100 miles to the north, Ben Simmons had talked in circles about how it wasn’t Embiid or Rivers or Philly fans or the delicate state of his mental health that compelled him to sit out this season and leave the better part of $170 million on the table. It was something more personal, more nebulous, “a bunch of things I was dealing with,” he said. Then Harden, who previously loved Houston but left the Rockets and presumably loved Brooklyn for at least a week before forcing his way from the Nets to the Sixers, tied himself into a similar mess of knots.
“Originally, when I was going through everything I was going through in Houston, Philly was my first choice,” Harden said. “I don’t really want to get into the Brooklyn situation. I just knew for a really long time this was a perfect fit. Obviously, you had the best big man in the league in Joel, and obviously the coaching. Just top to bottom, it made sense.”
Everything I was going through.
If by “everything,” Harden meant the conveyor belt of superstars who trundled into and out of Houston during his tenure, the multiple times he demanded or threatened to demand a trade, and his willingness to force the Rockets’ hand by ignoring COVID-19 protocols and generally appearing uninterested in playing for them anymore, then “going through” is a particularly nimble bit of verbal side-stepping.
Just once, it would be nice if Harden, Simmons, and athletes who have pulled off similar power plays would be open and frank about why they do it. Simmons didn’t want to be here anymore. Harden didn’t want to be in Brooklyn after he didn’t want to be in Houston. “For the most part,” he said, “we can control our own destiny.” And since, in the NBA, highly skilled and highly paid players can often dictate their own terms, they do. It’s fine. In some ways, it’s good. Just own it, guys.
“I’ve got to make sure I’m great, I’m healthy, I’m in a place where I can be the best James Harden I can be on the court,” he said. “Everything else, from being here the last couple of days, is already in place. From Josh and Daryl and Doc, he makes sure everybody knows their role and structure, and I’ve just got to go out and do what I do. So my job is pretty easy.”
Terrific, as far as the Sixers are concerned. Though it’s fair to be skeptical of Harden’s enthusiasm for his new team, given how hot he was to bolt from his previous one, he should be well motivated here. He and Morey have a close relationship; each owes the other for his rise and regard throughout the league. He has admired Rivers for a while, calling him Tuesday “one of the best coaches ever to coach the game of basketball.” He is joining a team that already has this season’s favorite to win the MVP award and that managed to forge a 34-22 record despite a 6-foot-11, 240-pound-sized hole in its roster, and if Harden exercises his player option — he said Tuesday he will — he’ll earn $47.3 million next season.
Maybe the greater motivation for Harden, however, is the reality that awaits him if his infamous wanderlust starts tingling again. The Sixers are his third team in the last 14 months, and if he decides Rivers isn’t running enough of the offense through him … or if Embiid thinks Rivers is running too much of the offense through him … or if he wakes up one morning and says to himself, Gosh, South Beach sure is swell this time of year. I wouldn’t mind playing there … well, too bad, James. You’re pretty much out of luck.
No executive in the league trusts and believes in Harden more than Morey does, which means no team in the league would have taken – or will take again – the kind of chance on Harden that the Sixers just have. Everyone is on the line here: Morey, Rivers, Harden most of all. This situation really is as good as it’s going to get for him. If it doesn’t work out here, he won’t have anywhere else to go.
“It wasn’t planned like this,” he said. “Fourteen months ago, I didn’t see myself with three different teams. But we’re all here today, and I’m happy.”
That’s the important thing. Seriously. The Sixers just have to hope his bliss lasts a little longer than usual.
