Because it’s reported Harden wants to play for a team that will compete. Well… that’s not Houston. Especially if they have to pay him the max (which he also clearly wants).

I’ve no doubt Houston front office wants to see the wins go up, because they could all be toast after another bad season, so I get their interest to *some* extent (especially since they don’t have a 2024 pick if memory serves). And I’ve no doubt Harden loves Houston, loves being king of the city. If he doesn’t care about winning at all, he could cash huge checks and do the Damian Lillard thing on the way to a barely-.500 season.

… but I think he’ll be back in Philly if he *actually* wants to compete. Especially because he has Philly COMPLETELY over a barrel for the reason you stated. If they don’t pay him, they’re not competitive any more, and they risk pissing off Embiid. So they just have to offer him a 4-year max.

We’ll see if the “he wants to compete” claims are just bullshit end of the day, lol.

Also, fwiw, if we see a Harden/Green/Porter/Smith/Sengun starting 5 next season, we’re officially on watch for what could be the worst defense in the history of the NBA, lol. They’d be electric on offense and absolutely beyond dreadful on defense. It’d be incredibly fun to watch so I kinda hope it happens for that reason alone, lmao.