Despite widespread rumors of superstar guard James Harden reuniting with the Houston Rockets flourishing for many months, it appears likely he’s staying put with the Philadelphia 76ers.
As the June 30 start date to free agency nears, momentum has clearly cooled between Harden and Houston. According to multiple reports, it’s less about Harden having a change of heart and more a reluctance by the rebuilding Rockets to pay a massive contract to a player who turns 34 years old this offseason.
On Monday’s “The Lowe Post” podcast, ESPN’s Zach Lowe said:
The breaks have now been pumped, like slammed on, around the league to the point that I bet if you poll 50 front office executives, the majority of them would guess he’s going back to Philly. I don’t know what the hell is going to happen. We’ll see.
The Rockets might be more tempted by a younger free-agent point guard such as 29-year-old Fred VanVleet, who is less ball-dominant than Harden and grades out as a better defender.
Granted, it’s still more than a week until free agency negotiations can begin. As such, there’s still time for either Harden or the Rockets to change course, and it’s also possible some of the latest reporting could be a leverage play.
But as of now, developments aren’t trending positively for a reunion.
