Philadelphia 76ers: James Harden is not the Answer

The Philadelphia 76ers and James Harden might not be as compatible as you think.

I know that I’m not going to be liked for taking this position, but here it is Sixer fans: James Harden is not the answer.

Why? I’m glad you asked. One could look at this article and immediately trash it, and I wouldn’t blame them. Look at this man’s resume:

· 25.2 points per game for his career

· The NBA’s career leader in 50-point triple doubles

· Only player to have a 60-point triple double

· One of four players to average over 35 points per game in a season (Wilt, Mike, and Kobe are the others)

· 3x NBA scoring champion

· 8x NBA All-Star

· 2012 NBA Sixth Man of the Year

· 7x All-NBA selection

· 5th on NBA’s All-time three-point list

· 2018 NBA MVP

What is really to argue? Not much. James Harden is a certified first ballot Hall of Fame player when he hangs it up for good. Every team would be lining up to pursue him, though the Rockets are not in any way thinking about trading him, allegedly.

So why am I taking this stance of staying James Edward Harden Jr. is not the answer for the Sixers? It’s very simple:

He’s not The Answer.

Follow me for a second. Whether we want to believe it or not, The Philadelphia 76ers are still searching for an identity that can fill the shoes of one Allen Ezail Iverson. His 6-foot, 165-pound shadow still looms large over the collective basketball faithful in Philadelphia. Since his departure in 2006, and retirement with the Sixers in 2010, Philadelphia has struggled to find a star that reached the heights of Iverson’s heyday. Yeah, Joel Embiid has filled in admirably over the last few years, but kids, the Iverson era was a moment you had to live through to fully grasp.

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And I haven’t even gotten to the basketball side of it yet.

Allen Iverson took a team of defensive stalwarts who were severely offensively challenged and led them to an NBA Finals where he single-handedly beat one of the best playoff teams ever, The Shaq and Kobe led undefeated Lakers who didn’t lose one game all playoffs long. He was special.

With all that James Harden has accomplished, what has he done in the playoffs when it is all on the line? Fail to close out the Warriors in the midst of their dynastic run in 2018 when they had them on the ropes (not to mention, losing to them also in five games in 2015 and 2016), flaming out in six games to San Antonio — Manu Ginobili’s late block on Harden in Game 5 eventually being the nail in the coffin — and this past season in which Harden and the Rockets were bounced in five games by the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers.

What am I trying to say? James Harden cannot carry a team to the NBA Finals. His style of play, while producing eye-gouging numbers, does not equate to success in today’s NBA.

He’s not The Answer.

That era is over.

In a time where LeBron James has championed the push for superstars teaming up to form their own version of Voltron, James Harden stands out as a relic of the past; a reminder of the time when the best player on the team always had the ball in his hand, the fate of an entire fanbase lay on his capable shoulders.

We enjoyed that time. But things change.

Now, it’s about the team.

The Sixers are a few pieces away from winning a championship. I fully believe that James Harden trade would push back that timetable. Considering the thought of pushing all of our chips to the middle for a now 31-year-old heavy volume player who will cause more stagnation to a team who has already been stagnant offensively, is not the best choice. The Sixers are still young and have two stars that haven’t reached their primes.

Sixers front office: Give up pursuing James Harden. He doesn’t fit. Fill in the gaps of this roster and develop the young players. Look to the future. Not the right now.

James has shown us what he can do. He’s given us a throwback memory to the brilliance of Allen Iverson.

However, in the words of Bruce Wayne’s antagonist, Bane, in the blockbuster hit, The Dark Knight Rises: “Admirable, but mistaken.”

He’s not it. He’s not The Answer.