So James Harden wants people to shut their eyes to reality and see him instead as a present-day version of St. Francis of Assisi. So selfless. So generous. So willing to sacrifice for the 76ers’ greater good.
Harden spoke to Yahoo! Sports on Sunday, an interview that served a dual purpose for him: to address the worries and uncertainty surrounding his future with the Sixers, and to promote his new wine collection, “J-Harden.” There’s no small amount of irony in the fact that Harden is launching a product that is supposed to improve as it ages. And it’s always funny how star athletes say that they don’t need to pay attention to independent media outlets — We have social media! We have podcasts! We can control our own narratives! — until they have wine to sell or an image to burnish or positivity to spread. But Chris Haynes, the reporter who conducted the interview, is a pro, and in writing the story, he knew to push the booze news to the bottom and put the more relevant and interesting quotes up top.
Harden revealed that he had spoken with Daryl Morey, the Sixers’ president of basketball operations, about the ways in which the team might strengthen itself enough to advance beyond the postseason’s second round for the first time since 2001. By declining his $47.3 million player option for 2022-23 and reportedly agreeing to a two-year contract, Harden will cut his salary next season by $15 million, which in turn allowed the Sixers the salary-cap space to make the additions they have so far this summer — the signing of free agent/Harden compadre P.J. Tucker among them.
