James Harden has had a wild last two years, the high drama of his move from the Houston Rockets to the Brooklyn Nets was only outdone by his trade from Brooklyn to Philadelphia. Harden played 21 games for the Sixers averaging 21 ppg and 10 apg.
There were rumors if Harden was going to stay on the team given his high contract entering next season which would have been $47 million. Now by opting out of his player extension it gives the Philadelphia 76ers a better chance of organizing their roster for next season.
Having Harden, Joel Embiid, and DeAndre Jordan leaves the club with a good foundation for next season and with cap space to maybe put the Sixers over and make them an NBA championship contender. According to BetMGM the Sixers are a 13-1 favorite to win the NBA crown at the moment.
James Harden takes pay cut to stay with Sixers
According to Shams Charania, “James Harden is taking a $15 million pay cut for next season that allowed Philadelphia to elevate roster — with sole focus on a championship run in 2023. Harden opted out of his $47M player option and now plans to sign a new two-year deal with a player option in Year 2.”
Harden is looking to stay in the long term at Philadelphia and the 10-time All-Star and NBA MVP is looking to play a much bigger role next season than just “star signing”. The Sixers are hoping to upgrade but have a “quieter” offseason than last year with the issues around Ben Simmons that plagued the team for most of the season.
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