Joel Embiid is coming off a Kia MVP season. What will he do for an encore in 2023-24?

Key additions

• Coach Nick Nurse, G Patrick Beverley (free agency), F Kelly Oubre (free agency)

Key subtractions

• Coach Doc Rivers, F Georges Niang

Last season

It began so promising, yet ended so predictably. We’re talking about a team blessed with a pair of certified stars yet couldn’t cash in with them when it truly mattered.

Joel Embiid finally won the Kia MVP after coming up short the last few seasons with a dominant performance that left little doubt whether he deserved the award, averaging 33.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. On many nights, he carried the Sixers to a good number of their 54 wins, third-best in the East.

And James Harden led the league in assists, mostly by finally developing chemistry with Embiid. In their first full season together, Embiid and Harden proved to be one of the league’s best 1-2 combos, with Harden, a former scoring champ, sacrificing shots to get Embiid that MVP.

Tyrese Maxey also took his game next level and elevated himself past Tobias Harris to become the most reliable No. 3 option. There were times when Maxey was given the ball with the game on the line, proof that the Sixers had great confidence in the guard’s ability to make the right decisions and be a hero. 

But: In a Game 7 against the Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals, it all came crashing down. Embiid and Harden infamously turned to vapor, combining to shoot 8-for-29. It was shocking to witness the manner in which the Sixers lost that contest when their two stars disappeared.

Summer summary 

So much for loyalty. That’s what the Sixers GM Daryl Morey and Harden all mumbled to themselves this summer, for totally different reasons but the same meaning.

Let’s explain: Harden for some reason (contractually, most likely) felt betrayed, demanded a trade, and as the summer came to an end, nothing was settled. He was still, officially, a Sixer.

The distant sound you hear is dominoes crashing. Because: Harden doesn’t have much trade value for a player in slow decline and never seems happy wherever he is; the Sixers need a co-star to stay in the championship hunt; and if they keep Harden and he pouts or swap him for pennies on the dollar, then all eyes turn to Embiid to measure his patience.

It’s a mess, basically. Harden could’ve avoided all of this and simply opted out of his contract and became a free agent. But nobody in the NBA was either willing or able to give him what that option year was worth ($35.6 million), so he opted in for 2022-23 to get his money … then demanded a trade when the Sixers refused to extend the contract. That was a boss move.

Too bad, because he and Morey go back to their Houston days, yet that relationship now seems fractured. Speaking of Houston, when the Rockets dragged their feet to trade him a few years ago, he reported to camp out of shape and was detached and distracted once the season began. It was totally unprofessional, yet that behavior could repeat itself in Philly if he isn’t trade by the opener.

But what’s he worth on the market, given his age, efficiency decline, conditioning issues and a contract that expires next summer, and therefore could just be a one-year rental for his next team if he’s not extended. 

Speaking of extensions, the Sixers gave one to backup center Paul Reed, but not Doc Rivers. The coach was dumped, unsurprisingly, after the Sixers failed once again to reach the Eastern Conference Finals. Philly now turns to Nick Nurse (who won a title in 2019 with the Raptors) and brings the right personality approach required to deal with big egos.

But Nurse might have one less to deal with next season if Harden gets his wish.

Up next: Milwaukee Bucks | Previously: Cleveland Cavaliers

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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA for more than 25 years. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.

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