Important factors in Sixers’ potential James Harden pursuit: Fit
Does Harden actually work with Embiid? Yes. Yes he does, yes he would, yes of course. If you have the chance to pair top-10 players, it’s generally smart to do so. Harden and Embiid are two of the most dominant individual offensive talents ever. Embiid’s per-minute scoring stacks up with anyone historically, and Harden spent several seasons carrying Houston on his shoulders to an unprecedented degree.
Embiid and Harden are probably the most prolific foul-drawers in the NBA, even if Harden’s penetration has tapered off somewhat this season. They would compromise defenses at every level. Embiid is no longer just posting up. He’s bringing the ball up the floor, working out of pick-and-rolls, facilitating from the elbow. It would take time for them to find a rhythm, but neither Embiid nor Harden have many weaknesses right now. It would be hard to make it not work.
No general manager in the NBA tailors his rosters to his stars better than Daryl Morey. He built Houston into a juggernaut precisely because he constructed every piece of Houston’s roster around Harden’s unique skill set. He has done a similarly strong job in Philadelphia, even if he was dealt a bad hand by the previous managerial regime. He has littered the roster with shooters to complement Embiid, and guess what: Harden, Embiid, plus shooters would work mighty fine. Seth Curry, Danny Green, Georges Niang, Furkan Korkmaz — all those guys would feast off Embiid and Harden’s dual playmaking threat.
The Sixers would hopefully have two sources of elite dribble penetration in Harden and Tyrese Maxey, along with Embiid’s all-world dominance on the offensive and defensive end. Doc Rivers, if he’s still the head coach, would simply have to lean into the isolation talent of his two stars, stagger his rotations, and let two Hall of Fame talents cook. Of course James Harden and Joel Embiid would fit together.
There’s also the fit off the court. Harden is good friends with Morey and Sixers co-owner Michael Rubin. Harden and Morey’s working relationship ran strong for eight years in Houston, and it was Morey’s departure (in part) that brought about Harden’s trade demand and the end of Houston’s run atop the West. Embiid has developed strong chemistry with Morey and the front office too. It would be nice for management and the Sixers’ two superstars to have such a strong rapport. We have seen previous Sixers GMs and stars (Jimmy Butler) not get along quite so swimmingly.
It is far too early to say Harden will join the Sixers with any confidence. In fact, one has to expect Brooklyn is the running favorite to keep him, just based on the immediate contending status of any team rostering Kevin Durant, James Harden, and (even part-time) Kyrie Irving. But, the smoke is real, and the Sixers with both Harden and Embiid would equally capable of winning the chip. It’s an exciting thought.