What to do about James Harden? A Sixers postmortem

I go back and forth about James Harden: Part of me thinks the future Hall of Famer is on a fast, downhill slide, and that no amount of offseason training will reverse that.

But another part can’t help but believe he will bounce back in 2022-23 after coming to camp in better shape without the nagging hamstring injury.

Either way, the Sixers shouldn’t give Harden a max contract. A multi-year deal short of that I can live with. And if Harden is serious about wanting to win a championship, he should be flexible. He sounds like he wants to stay in Philly; we’ll see what happens.

One of the real positives from Harden’s arrival was the emergence of Tyrese Maxey as a dynamic scorer. As a playmaker, Harden has few equals, and Maxey was a huge beneficiary.

Will a full offseason to rehab his hamstring and improve his conditioning give us a Harden who can excel in the playoffs as well as the regular season? Or am I dreaming?

Just add those questions to the running list: Will the Sixers ever get past the second round of the postseason? And will Joel Embiid ever be healthy enough for the team to make a championship run?