Philadelphia 76ers: 3 reasons why it will be the last playoff run for this core

Reason No. 1: The continued uncertainty involving James Harden

I don’t think that it’s a simple coincidence that James Harden has been linked to the Houston Rockets more than once over the last few weeks. I believe that there is pressure that is coming from his camp that is essentially telling the Sixers that either we compete for a championship this season or there’s a high likelihood that Harden could end up leaving during the offseason.

Whether that’s Harden looking to find his way to another contender or simply securing one more big payday, in the instance of the Rockets, remains to be seen. But I think there’s at least an outside chance that Harden ends up walking during the offseason.

This is quite the conspiracy theory, but would it be that outrageous if both Harden and Embiid came to the agreement that they’re going to give it one more shot with the Sixers before possibly exploring other options?

Again, this is a lot of speculation, but there are so many signs that point to this being a critical playoff run for the Sixers on multiple fronts.