BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - MAY 09: James Harden #1 of the Philadelphia 76ers looks on during the second half of game five of the Eastern Conference Second Round Playoffs at TD Garden on May 09, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. The 76ers defeat the Celtics 115-103.
The Sixers are in a very tough spot after the game 7 loss. James Harden has opted out. If they want to keep him, they will likley have to give him the 4-Year $200 million deal he wants. But that is tough to justify given his age and his poor performance in the playoffs. But if they let him walk, they are left with no cap space, and no PG. So what should the Sixers do? Keith Pompey from the Philly Inquirer joined The Best Show Ever today, and gave his thoughts.
“They are over the cap. Without James Harden, who is going to be your PG? I love Maxey, but being a ball distributor isn’t his game. He is more of a scorer. So I think James in a way, has them under barrel… That isn’t even Daryl Morey’s decision. If you are Morey, you want James to come back. You gave up draft picks. There were other trades you could have had that your turned down, because you wanted James. Now if James leaves, and you don’t have a PG, all of a sudden it is like wow look what Daryl did to this franchise.
Houston really wants him, and they have the cap space available. So you need to think long and hard. Is this team championship worthy or not next year without James Harden? And will I be able to live with him having a Tobias Harris contract? Its one of those things where you are damned if you do, and you are damned if you don’t right now with James Harden.”
Pretty much, either way the Sixers are in trouble. Their best option may be to work out some kind of sign and trade that brings back talent in his place. But could they make that happen in way that brings back another star PG to Philly? James Harden has them backed into a corner. Either give a guy a contract he doesn’t deserve, or compromise your roster by having no true PG.
You can listen to the full conversation with Keith Pompey below:
Analyzing 9 Options To Be The Next Head Coach For The Sixers
Doc Rivers is out as the Sixers’ coach. Not too surprising. After the performance of his team in game 7, the writing was on the wall. A lot of other successful coaches have already been fired directly after their team came up short like the Sixers. It felt highly unlikely Doc Rivers would come away clean. Sure enough, on Tuesday just before noon, Woj broke the news that Doc Rivers had been fired. And now, the Sixers begin their search for the next head coach.
And this coach is going to have to be the guy. This will be the 3rd head coach of The Process Era. First, there was Brett Brown, who coached the Sixers through the actual tanking years. He stuck around for several more years once Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons were on the court. He led them to 2 straight 2nd round exits and then got the boot after the Sixers got swept in round 1 of the Bubble season. Then it was Doc Rivers. He coached the team to three straight 2nd rounds, along with 3 straight exits. This year’s collapse vs the Celtics was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Luckily for the Sixers, there are several great candidates for their next head coach, at least on paper. There were winning coaches fired by their teams for coming up short. Guys who coached under Doc Rivers who may be looking for a chance to step into the driver’s seat. Veteran coaches who took last year off and may be looking to get back into coaching. Some of the options being thrown out are great, and some not so much.
Let’s take a look at each name being thrown around and if they will be the right fit: