The NBA has now ended all sports radio arguments on James Harden

I’ve heard it all on James Harden and I did everything in my power to give his playoff reputation the benefit of the doubt upon his arrival in Philadelphia. There are so many things to like and respect about Harden and his career accomplishments but the inability to play at his best when it matters the most is a fatal flaw. He has been argued about over and over with the term “All Time Top 75 Player” used as his great defense. Statistically, he belongs. Career accomplishments in the playoffs fall very short.

It was a great surprise to me yesterday when the “Woj Bomb” was dropped that James Harden was opting in to his 2023-24 contract. That decision gives the 76ers and Harden a tentative one year marriage extension. They have got time to work out an extension on their own or to trade him to another team.

- James Harden had no free agent market for his services. He had the option of finding a deal with any NBA team. His representation was open for business. According to the top NBA Insiders, Harden found no market for his services. Any team could have seen him as the missing piece to a championship. Nobody did. That speaks volumes.

- Daryl Morey and James Harden have a long term relationship in place. It complicates what the next move will be. Remember, it was Morey that mortgaged the future to bring Harden to Philly in order to dump the contract of Ben Simmons. Almost everyone was unanimous that they needed to do anything to get rid of Simmons, but the price he paid looks like it has set the franchise back in draft capital. Morey needs to get something in return that helps clean up some of the mess he made.

- Tobias Harris and his expiring contract is now the elephant in the room. Is there any way that Harris will be off of this team by the time they take the court? That is up in the air. It allows Morey to potentially clean out the books with flexibility in the salary cap moving forward. It’s just one more option that creates excitement for the future.

- Nick Nurse told “The Best Show Ever” that he wanted to run a high-tempo motion offense. He wants to see Tyrese Maxey bringing the ball up the court often. When I heard those things I asked on our show how James Harden would ever fit into that kind of plan. I believe the developments of the past 24 hours show that Nurse didn’t see it either.

Every NBA Insider but Ramona Shelbourne has indicated that a trade is coming. She made it clear on Sportscenter and ESPN Radio that she didn’t see a landing spot coming in Los Angeles from the Clippers. She said that her sources don’t believe the Clippers want to give up any controllable star talent. Her position is contrary to others, but she is insistent that her belief is he will return to the 76ers.

Put me in the camp of people who don’t believe Harden returning is an option. The fan base is clearly not clamoring for it. The playoff disappointments are well-documented. I believe the Harden story has been written. I’d like to see the final chapter play out elsewhere.

The Philadelphia 76ers sat on their couches and watched the Denver Nuggets defeat the Miami Heat in the 2023 NBA Finals.

When another city gets to enjoy a championship, Philadelphia fans inevitably turn the conversation to how the local team should emulate the recently-crowned champs.

Bob Cooney put a different spin on the topic during the Cooney’s Corner segment on The John Kincade Show.

NBA teams and essentially all professional sports franchises should look for a blueprint based on previously successful teams. However, the concept isn’t always as simple as it seems.

The Sixers trudged through “The Process,” the most infamous rebuild in the history of North American professional sports, largely based on the idea that no NBA team could win without acquiring multiple superstars.

Recent NBA history, however, shows more variations of championship blueprints than the general consensus has given credit for at many points.

It’s been a decade since Sam Hinkie dealt Jrue Holiday to kick off “The Process” at the 2013 NBA Draft, but Sixers fans haven’t tasted the glory they hoped would follow a long period of deliberate tanking.

They’ve watched the Heat in the era of LeBron James and the “Big Three” pass by. They’ve watched the Golden State Warriors assemble an overwhelming roster (logically) thinking they were the best model to emulate.

However, they’ve now seen nine different franchises win the past 13 titles. Even the Golden State dynasty of four championships in eight years allowed four teams to win rings in the meantime.

What's the real blueprint for a team to win the NBA Finals?

The copy cat style of the NBA played a big part in setting "The Process" in motion. Miami assembled James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh to win two championships and advance to four NBA Finals from 2011-14.

The stacked Warriors teams continued the narrative that only an All-Star level team would ever win the NBA Finals.

The Sixers aimed to assemble superstars with top-three picks in four straight drafts from 2014-17. Unfortunately, Jahlil Okafor, Ben Simmons, and Markelle Fultz unceremoniously exited the picture as key pieces of the organization.

It's been difficult for the Sixers to recover and surround Joel Embiid with unmistakable superstar talent.

Jokic is hard to replicate. You'll hear the conversations about how the league isn't dominated by 7-footers anymore, but the Serbian is able to impact the game in as many different ways as any player in NBA history.

Will Joel Embiid ever reach the level of Nikola Jokic and finally give Philadelphia its first ring since 1983?

The Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics have advanced out of the Eastern Conference in three of the past four seasons.

The subjective idea of "Heat culture" under Erik Spoelstra became a topic of conversation throughout the playoffs, but the Sixers (or any other NBA team) won't build on the idea of developing seven undrafted free agents to fill out a roster surrounding Jimmy Butler or a player like him.

They'd have as good of a chance of plucking a supporting cast of talent from Connor Thomas' men's league.

The Celtics pulled the rug out from under the Sixers in an infamous trade ahead of the 2017 NBA Draft.

However, they don't necessarily have the elite talent on the level of LeBron James or Steph Curry during their prime years.

Does anyone consider Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown top-five players in the league?

The San Antonio Spurs have been arguably the best organization in the league during the modern era with five championships since 1999. 

The coaching of Gregg Popovich became big part of their ability to maintain their spot at the top of the league through their most recent championship in 2014.

NBA teams are recycling coaches at incredible rates in recent seasons.

While Nick Nurse brings a good pedigree to the sideline in Philadelphia, you won't find too many people arguing that coaching has been the primary weakness of the Sixers in their six consecutive playoff exits.

John spoke about how the blueprints might apply in Philadelphia.

James Harden will turn 34 before the 2023-24 season begins, and Joel Embiid is now 29 in the prime years of his career without enough team success to celebrate.

His analysis of the Sixers only proved Bob's point that there is no "definitive diagram" for Daryl Morey to work with.

So, how do you build an NBA champion?

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