Harden will decline player option with the Sixers and will be a free agent

James Harden, Still under scrutiny for his lousy performance in Game 7 against the Celtics, he is not going to activate the player option that would allow him to continue for another year in the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange of 35.6 million. According to Chris Haynes, the “Beard” is not going to activate that “player option” in search of a four-year contract in free agency this summer.

to their 33 years -He will start the season at 34-, Harden is aware that he is facing the opportunity to get the last big contract of his career and this is the ideal summer to try it as a free agent and coming from a campaign in which he has performed well despite its disappointing ending, leading the league in assists with an average of 10.7 to also sign 21 points and 6.1 rebounds on average with the best percentage from the perimeter of his career (38.5% with 7.2 attempts per game).

Harden is aware that he has to take advantage of the opportunity to get one last big contract.

Harden renewed with the Sixers last summer, declining the ‘player option’ that he also had to sign a contract on the downside, giving up 15 million so that ‘Philly’ had cap space to bring in PJ Tucker and Danuel House Jr.

As Haynes also points out, Philadelphia would be the first logical option for the point guard, who is desperately looking for the missing ring to culminate his career, an ambition that coincides with that of the Pennsylvania team despite the 22 years that the franchise has chained without passing the Conference Semifinals and the worrying drops in performance of Joel Embiid in playoffs.

One point in the Sixers’ favor is that they have fired a Doc Rivers that it was not to Harden’s liking, that he would have set the condition that the veteran coach not continue to continue in Philadelphia.

A return to the Houston Rockets It has sounded loud in recent weeks. The Texas team has been the team of its entire life and is currently the team with the most salary space in the NBA, but, despite its interesting group of youngsters -among them Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr. and Usman Garuba among them- , does not offer him any short-term guarantee of fighting for the ring. Without going any further, the Rockets -who will debut a coach with Making Udoka-, they were penultimate in the West.

Embiid, unhappy with the departure of Rivers

Daryl Morey addressed the subject of James Harden and more in his appearance at the end of the season. The President of Basketball Operations for the Philadelphia 76ers stated that they are interested in renewing the MVP of 2018 but, at the same time, prepared to look for alternatives if the ‘Beard’ does not want to continue. According to ESPN, ‘Philly’ has the right to offer him a contract 210 million8 million more than any other team.

Morey assured that Harden’s relationship with Rivers was good, the complete opposite of Embiid, who, according to Stephen A. Smith on ESPN, did not agree with the dismissal of the technician.

“It is my job to convince him that the new coach is someone with whom he will have a great relationship,” argued the executive, who reiterated his respect and appreciation for Rivers, but said that he has convinced the organization that a change in the bench it was the best “to move on” and that they will take calmly the search for the new coach.

“There are like 26 teams in the league that would prefer to have our roster,” Daryl Morey also defended about a roster in which half the players will enter free agency this summer, including Georges Niang, Jalen McDaniels o Danuel House Jr, the latter with ‘player option’.

However, the biggest problem occurs with Tobias Harriswho could be the number 1 candidate to be transferred, since the 39 million that he is going to collect this next course ‘clash’ with the possible new great contract of Harden and the extension of Tyrese Maxey in a workforce that currently already has 159 million projected salary bill for next year, 9 over the luxury rate and only 9 to exceed the limit from which they are applied Sanctions other than economic like not being able to use the mid-level exception to bring in players.

Finally, Daryl Morey puffed up his management despite the fact that, since his arrival in 2020, the Sixers have remained the same, stuck in the Conference semifinals. “Frankly, I feel like I’m the best person to lead the 76ers and the ownership believes it,” the executive said.

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