The Sixers are in a bind. They’ve got their top two players making the news for all the wrong reasons. First, there’s disgruntled James Harden, who has demanded a change of address, the third time in three years. Next, there’s disappointed Joel Embiid, who has signified a desire to win a title soonest, regardless of jersey. Between the two, there’s a ton of uncertainty general manager Daryl Morey most definitely did not envision when he paired them together late in the 2021-22 season. The plan was to contend for championships, not pivot to a rebuild.
The irony, of course, is that Harden and Embiid seem to complement each other well. Not for nothing did the former lead the league in assists while paving the way for the latter to claim a publicly coveted Most Valuable Player award. The music they made together enabled the Sixers to claim 54 wins, good for third overall in the National Basketball Association. And so good were they in tandem that fans in the City of Brotherly Love, not easily swayed and long jaded by abject failure throughout “The Process,” figured they could go deep in the 2023 Playoffs.
Perhaps it’s because the partnership ultimately failed to live up to expectations. For all its regular season pluses, the bottom line cannot be denied. The Sixers flamed out in the conference semifinals, with Harden and Embiid performing poorly just when they were needed most against the Celtics. Significantly, much of the blame was laid on the doorstep of head coach of well-regarded but essentially underperforming Doc Rivers. Morey wasn’t about to once more dabble in insanity (defined as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result), and so sent the bench tactician packing in favor of Nick Nurse.
Needless to say, Morey won’t be acceding to Harden’s request without getting equal value in return. Precisely because Embiid has grown impatient, he’s not about to accept pennies for dollars. It’s a big risk, to be sure; an unhappy vital cog can be an enemy from within. That said, he’s gambling on his longtime collaborator, dating back to their Rockets days, being motivated enough to angle for one last big payday through stellar work between the lines. And it’s not as if he has a choice; the moment he weakens the roster is the moment his best player checks out.
Bottom line, the Sixers are walking a tightrope. They’re hoping that, after all the bad breaks, they will finally get one that benefits them. Longtime habitues deserve it, although, as league annals have shown time and again, “deserve” and “earn” are two different matters altogether.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
