Stephen A Smith Is Back At It Again After Suggesting The Rockets Pulled A Max Contract Offer Because James Harden Wanted To Go For The Scoring Title

Tim Nwachukwu. Getty Images.

Now that James Harden has finally arrived at Sixers training camp after swearing he would never be a part of an organization that employs Daryl Morey, I think we're all waiting to see just how far Harden is willing to take this whole "make everyone uncomfortable" thing. You know for damn sure he's not there to work hard and prepare for a big season with the Sixers, so I imagine we'll hear about that in the coming days.

In the meantime, I couldn't help but notice the following clip from Stephen A, where he suggests Harden was in line for a max deal with the Houston Rockets

Yikes. Talk about fumbling the bag. This is the problem with only surrounding yourself with yes men. Someone in James Harden's life needs to tell him he is not Houston Rockets James Harden anymore. The days of Harden competing and winning for scoring titles are over and have been over, and that's OK! 

As we know, the Rockets were looking to spend big money this summer. They dished out 3/128M for the services of Fred VanVleet and then another 4/86M for Dillon Brooks. I do think the Rockets were a legit possibility for Harden during the actual basketball season, which is why we first started to hear about those rumors back in like December. It was a clear leverage play against the Sixers in a effort to get another massive extension from Philly.

The timeline of all this is important of course. Harden picked up his player option on June 29th, a few days before free agency. You only do that if you already know the max offer is no longer on the table for you. Where I'd be skeptical is the idea that the Rockets were out once it became clear that Harden wanted a scoring title. I'm thinking that actually happened the second they decided to hire Ime Udoka back in April

He was with Harden on the Nets. He knows what it looks like when he quits and what that can do to a team/locker room. It's clear Ime is trying to revamp the culture with the Rockets and you don't exactly fork over a ton of money and years to James Harden if culture is what you care about.

Let's just say this is what Harden really wanted though. Talk about having zero self-awareness. At this point in his career you would think Harden was focused on achieving the one thing he doesn't have. A ring. Performing well for an entire playoff run and not just a random game or two. It does sort of tell you everything you need to know about his mindset if at this point he cares more about a scoring title than winning.

I will say Stephen A does lose me a little bit with the whole "I haven't confirmed this with James Harden" piece. OK, so then why say anything? It wouldn't shock me if this is yet another reason why NBA players continuously call out Stephen A for making shit up on television, but at the same time it's not totally unbelievable that there are some bits and pieces of truth in there.

How this all ends is anyone's guess though. The latest we have from the Clippers side is they aren't all that interested in giving up anything substantial, we know Daryl Morey doesn't give a shit how awkward things get when it comes to trades like this, and really the only unknown wildcard is James Harden. So far every quitting tactic he's tried has worked, but this is like going up against the Final Boss or some shit. He may have to pull out some moves we've never seen before and even that might not work. 

Good luck!