After Star Guard declined a $47.4 million player option for the 2022-23 season James Harden will accept a starting salary approximately $15 million below that on a new contract with the sixessay sources Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). That would result in a ’22/23 salary in the $32-33 million range.
According to Charania, Harden intends to sign a two-year deal with Philadelphia that includes a player option for ’23/24. While the exact terms of the deal are not yet known, reporting from Charania suggests a total value in the vicinity of $66-68 million.
When Harden declined his option last week, reports at the time indicated he was planning to sign a new contract with the Sixers that included a lower first-year salary to help the team accommodate other roster moves.
Philadelphia has since used its full mid-level exception to sign PJ Tucker and its biannual exception for signing Daniel house, hard-capping team salary of approximately $157 million for the season. Harden’s new deal should give the 76ers about $2 million leeway under that hard cap. tweets Derek Bodner of The Daily Six.
According to Charania (Twitter link), Harden’s close ties to key figures in the Sixers organization, including the president of basketball operations Daryl Morey and minority owners Michael Rubin (who is selling its stake in the franchise but is expected to remain involved) were important factors in building trust between the two sides during the negotiations.
After Harden turned down his option, there was a feeling he would be rewarded with a long-term contract that would net him more guaranteed money overall, but the one-plus-one structure will give him the option to opt out and sign a new one sign maximum salary contract next summer. It will also give him veto power on any trade during the 2022/23 league year.
Harden, who was traded from Brooklyn to Philadelphia midway through the 2021-22 season, had a poor year by his standards and was hampered by a hamstring injury. The 10-time All-Star finished the season with 22.0 PPG, 10.3 APG and 7.7 RPG on .410/.330/.877 shots in a total of 65 games (37.2 MPG) for the Nets and Sixers.
Charania reported last week that the former MVP has resumed his practice and on-court schedule much earlier than usual this offseason, telling Sixers officials that he is focused on winning a championship in 2023.