Philadelphia 76ers are holding on to false hope with James Harden

The Philadelphia 76ers should seriously think about making big changes before the start of the season. 

It’s amazing how much the trajectory of a franchise can change in a matter of two games. That’s exactly what has happened to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Up 3-2 in the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Boston Celtics, it appeared as if the Sixers were finally going to break through to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2001. Instead of winning Game 6 or 7 to close out the Celtics, Boston won the final two games of the series to erase their 3-2 series deficit.

The Celtics would go on to make the Eastern Conference Finals and the Sixers were eliminated from the second round of the playoffs for a third-straight season and a fifth time in the last six years.

After the NBA Draft and free agency, the Sixers have not made any huge additions (other than firing head coach Doc Rivers and replacing him with Nick Nurse) and are now at a point where they’re trying to convince James Harden to move off from a trade request that he’s made to the team.

In short, the Sixers are a mess at the moment. And in a best-case scenario, this is a team that will be essentially running back the same roster from last season in hopes of a better result.

The Philadelphia 76ers are holding on to false hope with James Harden

The Harden situation is difficult (and practically impossible) for the Sixers to maneuver. On one hand, it would probably be in the best interest of the team to try and upgrade from Harden. Or at the very least, add another star-level talent to the Harden and Joel Embiid core.

Losing Harden for a fraction of his value, which would likely happen if he does get his wish to be traded to the LA Clippers, would put the Sixers in a terrible spot heading into the season.

I’d argue that either way, the Sixers are in a position where they’re holding on to false hope heading into the 2023-24 NBA season.

Even if the Sixers are able to persuade Harden to move off his trade demand, it’s hard to envision this team being better than they were last season. If they trade Harden to the Clippers, it’s hard to envision the Sixers having an improved roster heading into the start of the season.

With the rest of the East improving, there’s a strong argument to be made that it may be time for the Sixers to seriously think about a soft rebuild or at the very least a retooling.

The Boston Celtics got better, there’s a good chance the Miami Heat will get significantly better, and the Milwaukee Bucks are going to be strong until Giannis Antetokounmpo hangs it up or switches jerseys. The Sixers, on the other hand, are simply hoping to keep Harden.

Philadelphia is clinging to a false hope that is unlikely to last much longer.