76ers believe hiring Mike D’Antoni could lure James Harden to Philly

The Houston Rockets did not make much of an effort to retain former head coach Mike D’Antoni despite James Harden’s public endorsement of bringing him back. Now, the Philadelphia 76ers are in the mix to hire him to fill their head coaching vacancy.

It remains to be seen who either the Rockets or 76ers will end up hiring since there’s been plenty of names thrown around. However, Philadelphia appears to be down to D’Antoni and Tyronn Lue as their main options after Billy Donovan agreed to a deal with the Chicago Bulls.

According to John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia, one of the reasons the 76ers have substantial interest in signing Mike D’Antoni is the idea he could help lure Harden to Philly.

With Harden still having two years remaining on his current contract, there’s still a lot that can happen until he’s a free agent. However, if Houston struggles next season, would Harden give pause to the idea of signing a contract extension?

If the Rockets end up being faced with the classic situation of their All-Star entering a contract year without a new deal in place, would they even consider moving Harden to avoid the risk of losing him for nothing? It’s too early to raise these types of questions but it’s important to monitor.

If the 76ers try to pursue a James Harden trade in the future, they would surely need to be willing to part with some substantial assets. He will be 33-years-old by the time he will be playing on his next contract. Philadelphia would need to determine if he can lead them to contenion for years to come at that point.


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