James Harden will reportedly opt out of contract; Sixers ‘have interest’ in bringing him back
Harden, who has a $35.6 million player option, is expected to opt out of his final year in Philly and become a free agent, according to a report.
Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said Wednesday he does “have interest” in bringing James Harden back next season.
It appears that a four-year deal is what it’s going to take. Harden, who will be 34 going into next season, has a $35.6 million player option and is expected to opt out of his final year in Philly and become a free agent, Yahoo! Sports reporter Chris Haynes reports.
“We have to plan for every scenario,” Morey said. “And, for sure, [Harden] has the option to be a free agent, and so we have to plan for all those scenarios. And we feel like that’s a scenario where we can continue to move forward.
”Look, we have to remember there’s like 26 teams that would rather have our roster. We’re starting with the MVP in the league.”
Harden’s decision is not a surprise. Rumors that Harden would consider a return to Houston emerged throughout the season. The 2018 MVP became became a star there after being traded by the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2012. Harden played nine seasons in Houston and maintains a residence there.
“We have a lot of free agents so we’re going to lose some free agents,” Morey said. “There are some key ones we’d like to bring back, but we feel good about the alternate scenarios as well. Scenario A would be to bring James back. Scenario B would be if he’s not back we’ll have to get creative and we feel good about the tools available to us if that happens.”
Harden also took a $15 million pay cut last summer to help the Sixers land P.J. Tucker and Danuel House Jr. in free agency. Of course, the Sixers received a slap on the wrist as a result, being hit with a tampering charge and losing second-round picks in the 2023 and 2024 NBA drafts.