Sixers at Risk of Losing Perennial All-Star, Says Analyst

Getty Sixers general manager Daryl Morey.

The Philadelphia 76ers landed their guy in James Harden, but it took an extra season to do it.

After forcing his way out of Houston, Harden found his way to the Brooklyn Nets, but it’s no secret that his former general manager with the Rockets, Daryl Morey, who is now running the show with the Sixers, wanted to snag the superstar.

Fast-forward to February 10, when Morey pulled off a blockbuster trade that sent Andre Drummond, Seth Curry and Ben Simmons to the Nets for Harden and Paul Millsap.

Everybody seems happy, but if Harden declines his player option after the season, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. And teams hoping to land a true superstar will likely roll out the red carpet for him.

The Sixers are likely aware of this and might prepared to offer Harden what he wants, but Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes noted in a March 7 story that what to do about him will be the “toughest” free agency decision.

Considering that Harden, 32, is on his fifth team, the Sixers might not feel all that secure now that he’s in town.

Could They Lose Him?

GettyJames Harden has a new home again.

If Harden were to accept his player option and then sign a four-year extension, most concerns would be put to rest, but there’s no guarantee Harden would do that.

“The 10-time All-Star hasn’t picked up his player option for 2022-23 yet, but he can do that any time before June 30,” Hughes wrote. “An opt-in and extension would net Harden four more years and another $227 million on top of his $47.4 million salary for 2022-23. That’d break down to an average annual value of $55 million for his age-33-37 seasons.”

Hughes wrote that he doesn’t expect Harden to cut the Sixers slack when it comes to a long-term contract given that Harden’s next contract likely will be the last massive one he gets. A full extension would take him through his age 37 season, means he’d be past his prime at that point, unless he ages like LeBron James.

Tying up a lot of long-term money into Harden could prove costly to the Sixers because they’d be building around an aging star. They might not have much choice if they want to win now. They might choose to deal with the consequences of signing Harden down the road.

Lots of Money

GettyTobias Harris could be shipped out of town.

With so many big contracts on the roster, there are rumblings around the league that Tobias Harris could be flipped in the offseason to build up depth. He’s on a massive contract himself that could be split off into other pieces.

An idea has already been floated that would essentially turn Harris into Tim Hardaway Jr. and Spencer Dinwiddie, something that would do wonders for the Sixers next year.

It doesn’t solve all of the issues the team has for their bench, but it’d certainly help. Maxey appears to be turning into a star right before our eyes, so getting a reliable backup wouldn’t be the worst thing.

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