James Harden is running it back with the Philadelphia 76ers.
The 32-year-old opted out of his $47 million player option for the 2022-23 season, instead opting for a one plus one deal (two-year contract with a player option) with the 76ers in order to create more roster flexibility for the franchise.
Sources: James Harden is taking a $15 million paycut for next season that allowed Philadelphia to elevate roster — with sole focus on a championship run in 2023. Harden opted out of his $47M player option and now plans to sign a new two-year deal with a player option in Year 2.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 8, 2022
In a recent interview with Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes, Harden discussed his rationale for helping the team add more talent in their quest to become one of the East's true contending teams.
“I had conversations with Daryl [Morey], and it was explained how we could get better and what the market value was for certain players. I told Daryl to improve the roster, sign who we needed to sign and give me whatever is left over,” Harden said.
“This is how bad I want to win. I want to compete for a championship. That’s all that matters to me at this stage. I’m willing to take less to put us in position to accomplish that.”
With Harden taking a $15 million pay cut, the 76ers were able to maneuver free agency with a little more wiggle room, which they used to sign some of his former running mates from the Houston Rockets.
The 76ers, who were in need of more depth and shooting, signed veteran 3-and-D specialist P.J. Tucker to a three-year, $33 million deal, along with fellow former Rocket forward Danuel House to a deal worth $8.5 million over two years.
The 76ers also acquired De’Anthony Melton in a trade.
“I think we have a much deeper team,” Harden added. “That’s something we wanted to address. If you look at our team now, we’re positioned to go a lot further. I like how we stack up with the rest of the top teams."
Harden was still productive last season for the 76ers but struggled to find his best form. In 21 regular season games, he averaged 21.0 points, 10.5 assists and 7.1 rebounds on 40.2 percent shooting from the field and a career-low 32.6 percent from the 3-point line.
Once one of the NBA's iron men, Harden missed only 39 games between 2009-10 and 2018-19 but has battled hamstring injuries in recent years, which have slowed him down.
As he prepares for a championship with the 76ers, Harden wasted no time getting back into the gym, returning to work just two weeks after the season finished, getting in reps with 76ers assistant coach Sam Cassell.
"I've had the luxury of not having to deal with any serious injuries — with surgeries or whatnot — my entire career. But these last two years, I’ve been dealing with some hamstring issues, which are nothing to play with,” Harden said in an interview with Haute Time.
"I’m taking this summer as an opportunity to do something for me, to make sure that I get back to the elite level that I know I can be at and that I will be at. So that’s priority No. 1."
