EconomyForex

‘When he’s engaged’

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Is James Harden a good teammate? If you ask him, he’s far more than that. “I feel like I’m one of the best teammates that the [National Basketball Association has] seen, on the court and off the court,” the Associated Press quoted him as saying. And if you ask Most Valuable Player candidate Joel Embiid, you’ll get an answer along the same lines. Never mind that the latter has shared the locker room with him for all of three weeks. Yesterday just so happened to be their third game together.

Considering Harden’s history with the Rockets and Nets, critics have cause to argue that Embiid’s estimation is precisely because the latter has shared the locker room with him for all of three weeks. Over the last decade, he has famously gotten along with world-class teammates — until he hasn’t. Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving, all marquee names with whose partnerships he initially welcomed and then shunned, can make an extremely competitive squad.

The point is this: Harden remains one of the best in the league when he’s engaged. For all the seeming decline in his game at 32, for all the baggage he carries as a party animal, and for all the attempts to legislate against his unique foul-baiting talents, he continues to be a force on offense those casting moist eyes on the hardware have reason to covet. That said, the operative phrase is “when he’s engaged.” And as the Who’s Who of former allies can attest, the passage of time offers diminishing returns.

Make no mistake. The Sixers were right to swing for the fences with Harden. In the process, they likewise benefited from addition by subtraction; getting rid of three-time All-Star Ben Simmons, whose potential as a vital cog in the City of Brotherly Love was compromised for good by a disappearing act in the immediate past playoffs. On the other hand, they would do well to temper their expectations. Their new acquisition comes with a warning label, and the fine print is clear: Caveat Emptor.

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.

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