After he parted ways with the Houston Rockets, Mike D’Antoni immediately became one of the frontrunners to become the Philadelphia 76ers ‘ next head coach. With his experience leading playoff contenders and mentoring multiple stars, it’s no longer surprising why the Sixers are reportedly very interested in hiring D’Antoni. However, it seems like there is a bigger reason why they want to bring the 69-year-old mentor to the City of Brotherly Love.
In a recent Twitter post, John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia revealed that some people inside the Sixers’ organization are hoping that the potential hiring of D’Antoni “could help lure” Rockets superstar James Harden to Philadelphia. The post can be seen here .
“I’m hearing one of the reasons along with coaching that Sixers have a lot of interest in Mike D’Antoni is feeling with some in organization that he could help lure James Harden to Philly. Harden can become a free agent in 2 years and there is possibility of trade.”
It’s hard to blame the Sixers for thinking that D’Antoni can convince Harden to leave Houston for Philadelphia. D’Antoni and Harden built a good relationship during their time together with the Rockets, and “The Beard” thrived under the veteran mentor’s system. However, between the two scenarios mentioned by Clark, Tyler Conway of Bleacher Report believes that it makes more sense for the Sixers to trade for Harden now than wait for him to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2022.
“Harden will also be 33 years old by the time the 2022-23 season begins. The 2017-18 NBA MVP presumably won’t be washed up by then, but he’ll be at or near the end of his prime.”
Bringing Harden to Houston via trade will likely come at a huge price. In order to convince the Rockets to engage in a blockbuster deal, the Sixers might have to include at least one of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons in the package, together with some of their young players and multiple first-round picks.
When both players are healthy, pairing Embiid with Harden would give the Sixers one of the best duos the league has ever seen. They could become Philadelphia’s version of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant — one that could potentially bring multiple NBA championships to the City of Brotherly Love.
The Harden-to-Philadelphia rumors seem like a pipe dream for the Sixers, but crazy things do happen in the league. If the Rockets aren’t able to significantly improve their roster this fall, Harden might consider following the footsteps of other superstars and start finding his way out of Space City.
