James Harden gives the Sixers their best chance to win an NBA title with Joel Embiid

James Harden is about as popular in Philadelphia right now as Carson Wentz, Ben Simmons, and the parking authority. Unfortunately, unlike the other three, Philly can’t do without James Harden.

Wentz and Simmons committed the unforgivable sin of demanding to leave. Harden merely committed the mortal sin of not showing up for a couple of big games. (The PPA? We’ve all been there.)

Harden played erratically at the end of Game 6 and without energy and effort in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. He did so against the archrival Boston Celtics. He and Joel Embiid choked in the biggest moment The Process has seen in its decade of futility — four minutes of home-court collapse, followed by 48 minutes of humiliation at the Garden.

» READ MORE: Joel Embiid, James Harden choke in a gutless showing in Boston. ‘The Process’ fails again.

As a result, most Sixers fans don’t want Harden to return after he inevitably opts out of the final year of his contract. They certainly don’t want him to return for multiple years at a yearly salary between $40 million and $50 million. All of that is completely understandable.

Except for this: What’s Plan B?

Embiid, 29, is at the apex of what is likely to be a relatively brief NBA prime. He has, at most, four good years left. They will be very good years. Great years. His best years to date were the past two, with Harden running the show.

It can be argued that, considering Embiid’s progress and the absence of Simmons, that last season’s edition of the 76ers was its best since the 2001 Finals team with Allen Iverson. As team president Daryl Morey said in his end-of-season press conference, the team might not have gone further in the playoffs but it did, irrefutably, progress. Embiid improved and won the MVP. Tyrese Maxey improved and became a dangerous shooter. The 2023 Sixers were miles better than the 2022 Sixers. That said, there’s no reason next season’s edition shouldn’t be even better.

But only if Harden returns. He brings talent and continuity. The team got better throughout the season. He became a better point guard; he’s never been better, in fact, now delivering passes crisply to the proper teammates in the proper spots on the court in places where they can immediately dribble or shoot.

“I’d be very happy if he came back,” said new coach Nick Nurse.

Of course he would. Who else will run his team?

Maxey? He hasn’t even figured out how to be a complete shooting guard yet. Kyrie Irving? Really? You think Harden’s got issues? Fred VanVleet? Sorry, not elite. D’Angelo Russell? Benched by the Lakers in each of the last two playoffs. Gabe Vincent? Poor shooter, good player, will be vastly overpaid; did we learn nothing about Miami and their self-evaluation of players from the Josh Richardson trade?

Further, and most importantly, the NBA economic rules that allow the Sixers to exceed the salary cap because they have Harden’s Bird rights also limit them to what they can spend on the open market. They’ll have about $12 million. They’re not getting a decent point guard for $12 million. VanVleet made $21 million last season, and Russell made $31 million. Their best hope would be to add a mid-level shooter like Denver’s Bruce Brown or Miami’s Max Strus and hope Maxey turns into Isiah Thomas.

The hill is just too hard to climb.

Continuity matters, too. The Celtics, Bucks, and Heat haven’t faced major roster upheaval in years. Since 2011, the Sixers hadn’t enjoyed roster stability until 2023.

Any newcomer would have to learn Embiid’s preferences, Maxey’s limitations, and Tobias Harris’ sensitivities. Harden knows all this now. Granted, VanVleet — a G League graduate whom Nurse created from whole cloth — knows Nurse’s schemes and style, which might make a transition to Nurse’s schemes and style less balky, but he’s not going to drop 30 in the playoffs.

» READ MORE: The Sixers need more than Nick Nurse to win a championship. They need better work from Daryl Morey.

OK, VanVleet has done that once. Harden’s done it 47 times, three times as a Sixer.

Harden won’t make the Sixers a great team, but if you’ve watched these unwatchable playoffs since the Sixers lost, you’ll understand that this isn’t about building a great team. It’s about building a not-so-great team that’s good enough to beat other not-so-great teams. With a little luck, after Giannis Antetokounmpo’s back injury left the Bucks unable to beat the No. 8-seed Heat, the Sixers would have been the best team in the East this year. Alas, the Sixers remained unlucky.

Embiid injured his knee in Game 3 of the first round. He missed two games; Game 4 against the Nets, whom they swept, and Game 1 against the Celtics, whom they still beat that night at the Garden. If Embiid had been healthy, the Sixers would have won the semis in six games, max; his health was the main reason they didn’t win in six, anyway. They also would have won the conference finals over the Miami Heat, despite Jimmy Butler playing Moses again. And yes, Embiid vs. Nikola Jokić, with Denver holding home court, would have been difficult, but not impossible, and certainly compelling. Butler & Co. won Game 2 in Colorado on Sunday.

The Sixers weren’t a great team, but the NBA hasn’t had a great team since the 2018 Warriors won their third title in four years. Given the transitory nature of players, who force trades, and coaches, who now have shorter leashes than chihuahuas, it likely will never have a great team again.

Which brings us to Doc Rivers. For many, Rivers’ postseason failures define his career on the bench. Fine. The Sixers fired Doc. If Doc was such a dunce, then a better coach should be able to get more out of the team — a team that includes Harden, and a healthy Embiid.

As to that, if you contend that this is a lost cause — that the Sixers will never feature a healthy Embiid in the playoffs due to his reckless style of play — then just stop watching. For better or worse, he is the franchise. If you want to enjoy your basketball team, then hope for his best. His best, for now, means having Harden along.

This might hurt. Harden will be 34 next season, his 15th. He can sign for four years and $210 million with the Sixers. Is he likely to be worth $45 million or $50 million four years from now? Of course not. But you’re not paying that money for four years from now. You’re paying that money for the next two years, maybe three.

You’re not paying that money because it’s the true value of James Edward Harden Jr.

You’re paying that money to maximize the asset you have in Joel Hans Embiid.