James Harden is apparently "torn" between staying in Philadelphia or going to Houston, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
"I don't think he knows, as far as what I know about his mindset," Charania said on The Ryen Russilo Podcast. "I don't think he totally is there. We're less than a month out from free-agency starting. I really think that he's torn with the prospect of staying in Philadelphia or moving on to Houston potentially and returning back to his home, that's where his roots are, his family is there, of course.
"They've got upwards of 60—they could make even more money available, close to 70 million in cap space," Charania continued. "They're going to have a ton of money and I think this is a team, in Houston, where I do believe they are going to be aggressive in the market place, potentially two year deals out there, balloon type deals."
Charania believes the decision is going to be a close one for Harden.
"I think whichever way it goes, it is going to be relatively close...You would assume [he] sits down with both teams. Philadelphia is going to have a window earlier, potentially going in and scheduling meetings."
Harden is expected to decline his $35.6 million player option for the 2023-24 season with the 76ers, in hopes of landing a max contract.
Harden, who will turn 34 in August, is coming off of a season where he took a pay cut with the Sixers and had a successful regular season, averaging 21.0 points, 6.1 rebounds and an NBA best 10.7 assists per game.
In the second-round of the playoffs, Harden had a volatile series scoring 42-plus points twice and then 16 or less in the other five games, as the Sixers were eliminated in the conference semi-finals once again.
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