Nick Nurse would be ‘very happy’ if James Harden returned to Sixers, echoing Daryl Morey’s public comments

The question arrived about 16 minutes into Nick Nurse’s introductory news conference and interrupted the new 76ers coach’s answer about winning in the playoffs.

“Do you want James Harden back?”

“James Harden’s a great player,” Nurse initially said before adding, “I would say this: James has a decision to make, and I’d be very happy if he came back.”

Nurse’s comment Thursday afternoon is in public lockstep with president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, who said about two weeks ago that the Sixers “are interested in bringing [Harden] back.” This comes despite some belief around the NBA that the talented-yet-polarizing guard plans to reunite with the Houston Rockets this summer after declining the $35.6 million player option in his contract for next season.

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Nurse said he has spoken with Harden — the future Hall of Famer whom the Sixers acquired in the blockbuster Ben Simmons trade in February 2022 — since agreeing to become the franchise’s new head coach earlier this week. Though Nurse added he was not in persuasion mode during that conversation, he said Thursday that “winning is always the sell” when asked about how he will pitch Harden on staying in Philly.

“Can we be good enough to win it all?” Nurse said. “That’s got to be a goal of his. And if it is, then he should stay here and play for us, because I think there’s a possibility of that.”

The coach said he plans to have similar individual, in-person conversations with other players in the coming days. But Nurse said he did not take this job with an inkling — or expectation — of the path Harden will decide to take this summer. More broadly, Nurse added that “it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense for me to go super deep into what we have [on the roster] until we know what we have” following the draft and free agency.

Harden put together an All-Star-caliber regular season, leading the NBA with 10.7 assists per game while also averaging 21 points and 6.1 rebounds and spearheading a dynamite pick-and-roll combination with NBA MVP Joel Embiid. But Harden’s shooting efficiency drastically swayed during the Sixers’ playoff run, especially during the seven-game Eastern Conference semifinal loss to the Boston Celtics. Harden twice eclipsed 40 points in that series, his two highest-scoring outputs as a Sixer. But he went a combined 5-of-28 from the floor in Games 2 and 3, then 4-of-16 in Game 6 and 3-of-11 for nine points in the season-ending Game 7.

If Harden opts to leave, the Sixers will have a significant void at lead ballhandler. Toronto point guard Fred VanVleet, who evolved from undrafted player to All-Star under Nurse’s watch and has offered praise for his coach in recent days, is expected to decline his player option and become a free agent this summer. But he will be a coveted target and likely would require the Sixers to shed considerable salary — perhaps via a Tobias Harris trade — to pursue him.

Or, more offense-initiating responsibility could fall on Tyrese Maxey, who is primed to sign a max contract extension this summer and is regarded as a major component of the Sixers’ future. Nurse on Thursday lauded Maxey’s speed and ability to make three-pointers and layups from farther away from the rim. The coach added that he hoped to immediately give Maxey more reps in the pick-and-roll to spark improvement as a creator by making reads to score or draw an additional defender. Impacting opposing ballhandlers on the defensive end is another area Nurse expects to work on with Maxey.

» READ MORE: Philadelphia deserves a WNBA team. And the Sixers’ Josh Harris should help make that happen.

Morey previously laid out a “Scenario A,” in which Harden returns, and a “Scenario B,” in which he departs and the Sixers “have to get creative.” Morey declined to answer the type of contract he would be willing to offer Harden, saying, “We haven’t even started [those discussions] because we’re not allowed to talk” to the player or his representation until late June. The belief is the Sixers will not sign Harden to a deal that would hamper their short- or long-term future.

Yet Nurse already has publicly echoed his new Sixers boss, that he would be “very happy” to coach Harden next season.