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James Harden’s buzzer-beating miss on filing the paperwork for the opt-in on his contract sparked immediate controversy. Did he do it on purpose to explore other options in free agency? Probably not.
Harden has said all the right things while looking overjoyed to be out of Brooklyn and in the same locker room as Joel Embiid. Procedural constraints aside, Harden is expected to sign a massive contract extension with the Philadelphia 76ers. It will likely be the final bank-breaking contract for the 32-year-old superstar, one that could border on $250 million.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst already expressed hesitation in handing an aging player “on the decline” that kind of money. Now there appears to be “legitimate concern” in the Sixers’ front office, according to Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix. The plugged-in reporter told The Bill Simmons podcast that some people are worried.
“That’s a legitimate concern amongst some people in Philly,” Mannix told Simmons, as transcribed by Audacy. “It’s going to be a bad contract at some point, the concern is does it become a bad contract sooner rather than later, and I’d be a little worried about that.
“If you don’t get a great playoff run this year out of him, are you going to get one next year? When does he start to really decline? They’re going to give him that contract, I don’t think there’s any doubt about that, but that’s a worry for some people down there.”
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Which Sixers Players Aren’t Vaxxed?
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps dropped an interesting piece of COVID-19 information that could impact the NBA playoffs. He asked team representatives from the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks if all players from those squads were fully vaccinated. The answer? The Heat and Bucks are 100% protected, while the Sixers and Celtics declined to comment.
The topic matters because one of those teams may have to face the Toronto Raptors in a first-round playoff series. If that happens, non-vaccinated players wouldn’t be permitted entry into Canada. That country requires proof of vaccination.
Many on Twitter were openly questioning which Sixers players had avoided the needle. DeAndre Jordan and Paul Millsap make sense since they are the newest members of the team. The Sixers played in Toronto back on December 28, 2021 and the following guys all participated: Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, Matisse Thybulle, Tyrese Maxey, Georges Niang, Furkan Korkmaz, Paul Reed.
And Harden suited up in Canada for the Nets on November 7, 2021. That would leave Danny Green, Isaiah Joe, Charles Bassey, Shake Milton as the only ones unaccounted for — although Green has been very vocal in his support for vaccinations. Just something to consider.
Next Up, Detroit Pistons
The Sixers (46-29) travel to Detroit to take on the Pistons (20-56) on Thursday night (March 31) with seven games left in the regular season. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. The early injury report lists Jerami Grant, Chris Smith, Hamidou Diallo out for Detroit, while Cory Joseph remains day to day. The Sixers have a clean bill of health. No injured players.
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