When the Philadelphia 76ers acquired James Harden at the 2021-22 trade deadline, the team had high hopes that his partnership with Joel Embiid would result to an NBA Championship. Unfortunately, one and half season and two tries later, Philly still couldn't get past the second round of the postseason.
The disappointment of their first playoff run in 2022 was understandable. After all, they haven't had the opportunity to play a lot after the midseason trade. This 2023, however, there were expectations that the Sixers would be able to contend for the title. Not only was it another MVP-season for Embiid, but Harden had fully adjusted to his scoring and facilitator role for the franchise. And after a complete offseason together, there's just no excuse for them not to win it all.
While the Sixers did well to extend the series against the Celtics, the fact of the matter is they couldn't close Jayson Tatum and co. They went up 3-2 in the series and had two chances to finally secure a ticket to the East Finals. Instead, they collapsed big time. Their performance in the do-or-die Game 7 was even forgettable. Tatum dropped 51 and outscored both Embiid, Harden and Tyrese Maxey (41 points) combined.
This 2023 was supposed the Sixers' best chance to win a title, but they couldn't. Now, it's definitely worth pondering upon whether Philly should just blow up the Embiid-Harden pairing and take another path to the finals.
With that said, here are three reasons why the Sixers should end the Embiid-Harden experiment.
3. James Harden is no longer the star the Sixers traded for
To be fair to James Harden, he did prove to the haters that he remains a productive player.
During his ugly 2022 playoff run with the Sixers, a lot of fans thought his best days were over. Many even called him “washed” considering that he appeared to be always a step behind offensively, far from the Harden of old who was casually dropping 50 burgers with the Houston Rockets.
This 2022-23 campaign, Harden embraced a facilitator role alongside Embiid and thrived, paving the way for the Sixers to finish third in the East with a 54-28 record. In the playoffs, it even looked like Harden was ready to propel Philly to the NBA Finals when he erupted for 45 points in Game 1 against the Celtics. Sixers fans had their hopes up that Harden and Embiid would be a lethal scoring threat.
Boy, fans couldn't be more wrong.
Harden in the 4Q of Games 5-7:
0 points in 32 minutes pic.twitter.com/eNDqTFUL6Y
— StatMuse (@statmuse) May 14, 2023
It's definitely nice to see Harden show everyone he can still score. Nonetheless, the massive up-and-down play he displayed throughout the series only proved that he's no longer the star he used to be. There's a reason he was never able to lead the Rockets to a championship, and that reason was evident against the Celtics.
It is also worth noting that Harden is already 33 years old. He's only going to decline. If he couldn't deliver this 2023, what makes the Sixers believe he can do it next year or the season after that?
2. Joel Embiid's championship window is closing
Joel Embiid is turning 30 next season, and if the best player behind him is a declining James Harden, then the Sixers will definitely have problems.
As mentioned above, Harden is just not the right star to help Embiid win playoff games. Sure, he helped elevate the Cameroonian big man to true MVP status this season. But at the end of the day, it's the championship that matters.
If Embiid wants to keep competing for MVPs, then playing with Harden might be a good thing. But if Philly wants to bring a championship to the city, then the team should definitely avoid wasting their big man's prime years.
Embiid can still carry the Sixers and be the face of the franchise for the next three to five years. But as he said after their Game 7 loss to the Celtics, he can't do it alone. But what he needs is not a superstar who will take a step back and be happy making plays, but rather someone who can also take over when he's struggling.
“I can’t win alone. Me and James [Harden], we just can’t win alone. That’s why basketball is played 5-on-5.”
Joel Embiid after the Sixers’ Game 7 loss to the Celtics 👀pic.twitter.com/L3KB6geaUT
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) May 14, 2023
1. The East is getting stronger every year
Embiid and Harden are getting older, and their path to the title is only getting harder year-by-year. Sure enough, that's a recipe for disaster.
Now that it has been proven that the Embiid-Harden pairing doesn't have what it takes to lead the Sixers to the promised land, the Philly front office needs to make a decision to keep the continuity of the roster and make sure they are able to compete at the highest level year in and year out.
Keeping Harden for a couple more years might be detrimental to that considering where he is at this stage of his career.
If the Sixers can get Harden to opt in or do a sign-and-trade that will get them back some key pieces, it will be great for their plans moving forward. Nonetheless, there's really not much merit for Harden to do that if he's leaving anyway.
But the reality is, the Sixers need to make some huge changes if they want to maintain their standing as a top team in the East. The Milwaukee Bucks are only going to get better with Giannis Antetokounmpo leading the way, while the Celtics certainly won't be going away any time soon with their young core of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The Cleveland Cavaliers are a rising team that could pose threat to the Sixers as well.
With that being said, if there's a time that the Sixers need to make some drastic changes, it is this 2023 offseason while Embiid remains at his best and they can still make a quick turnaround to field a championship contender.
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