Is Philadelphia 76ers star guard James Harden about to have one of the best seasons of his career?

If you let his agent, Troy Payne, tell the story? The answer is a resounding yes.

“He's been doing two-a-days the last three weeks,” Payne says of Harden's offseason workout regimen. “Like James has a crazy hunger in him right now. Like if he got an MVP season, I would be surprised. Just from the disrespect. Just the free agency stuff… 7 a.m., two-hour, three-hour practice, workout, come back.

The nutrition, even from the discipline from dieting — I just went to his house now, we did cardio for an hour — his discipline is crazy right now.”

“His discipline right now is impeccable,” Payne continues. “I'm happy that he's starting now. We got a whole month of August, whole month of September to get this thing going, and get him in the best shape of his career. I think we can get there this summer and I expect him to have a big season this year.”

The problem is not his play

The summer has not been kind to James Harden, a 10-time All-Star and former NBA MVP who's been a bit like a hot potato around the league these days.

After spending eight seasons with the Houston Rockets, he keeps finding himself on different teams almost yearly now — playing for both the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers since 2020 — and has no qualms about asking for a trade when he's too unhappy.

To that point, despite his trade request to the Los Angeles Clippers, he could very well ask to be shipped out of L.A. by the next summer if his first season there isn't to his satisfaction. That pattern of behavior — which is of a fickle sort — may not only play a part in the Clippers' apparent unwillingness to drive a harder bargain for his services but teams that have interest in his talent to not want to sign him to a lucrative, long-term contract.

The type of contract that neither the Rockets nor Sixers wanted to offer Harden this summer, despite his accomplishments and a strong 2022-23 campaign that saw him averaging 21.0 points, 10.7 assists, and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 41.1 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from 3.

Potential injury concerns aside, which stem from his own unprompted admission about an Achilles issue he was dealing with near the end of last season, the problem with Harden has very little to do with his on-court performance. To that end, it's a bit disappointing that his agent is emphasizing that aspect of the situation, as Harden might gain as much from better PR as better stamina.