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Sixers title odds drop slightly after James Harden news, but one sportsbook has him favored to return to Philly

The Harden news moved the NBA futures market a bit. Where will the star end up next? Here's what the early odds say.

James Harden warming up before the Sixers played the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
James Harden warming up before the Sixers played the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer

James Harden was expected to be in the news Thursday afternoon, but not exactly in this way. The 76ers guard was expected to opt out of his deal and seek a new one in Philadelphia or elsewhere.

Instead, Harden opted in to his $35.6 million player option and is seeking a new destination for the Sixers to trade him to.

And so the NBA’s silly season is underway. Free agency opens Friday, and the future of the Sixers is one of the biggest story lines leaguewide.

» READ MORE: James Harden needs a look in the mirror. But he gave the Sixers an out.

Will a Harden deal be made quickly and be the first big domino to fall before free agency? Will it linger for days, weeks, or months? Will the Sixers possibly get a good enough return for a player who will turn 34 before the 2023-24 season starts?

The answers to those questions were unknown as of Friday, but perhaps the answer to the last question was reflected in what the Harden news did to the NBA futures market.

The Sixers, who again failed to reach the conference finals, saw their 2024 NBA championship odds drop slightly after the Harden news broke late Thursday afternoon.

At BetMGM, the Sixers went from +1500 (15/1) to +1800. At FanDuel, they went from +1400 to +1700.

It’s not a major move, though it did put the Sixers behind Miami on the odds board at BetMGM and put them on the same line as the Heat at FanDuel.

Miami, according to The Athletic, is among the teams that could be pursuing a deal for Harden. The Clippers and Knicks have also been linked as possible destinations for Harden, who averaged 21.0 points and 10.6 assists in his 79 games with the Sixers over two seasons.

» READ MORE: Live blog: Latest on James Harden trade talks; free agents that could interest Philly

Where will Harden play next?

Betting on player destinations is more common at offshore sportsbooks and not in many regulated markets (states) in the U.S., though DraftKings did list odds for what team Harden plays his next NBA minute.

Surprisingly, the Sixers were slight favorites.

DraftKings made the Rockets +100 favorites to land Harden over Philadelphia after the Sixers were eliminated from the playoffs in mid-May. But it’s become increasingly difficult to see Harden heading back to Houston, where he starred for eight-plus seasons.

Player destination markets (legal and otherwise) are all over the place. An oddsmaker at Bookies.com listed (in order) the Clippers, Lakers, Rockets, Knicks, Trail Blazers, and Pelicans all less than 10/1 to land Harden.

Another site, BetUS, had Houston at -400.

It makes sense to see the numbers all over the place. It only underscores how little anyone seems to know at this point about where Harden will end up ... and when.