Getty Image / Jim Davis
Over the course of this NBA offseason, one of the biggest question marks in the league has been where James Harden would be playing next season.
For a while, the expectation has been that he would opt out of the last year of his contract and he has been linked with a few potential suitors.
However, the potential for him to opt out didn’t necessarily mean he would be leaving the Philadelphia 76ers and it had even recently been reported that signs were pointing to him opting out of the deal and negotiating a new one with the 76ers.
Now it turns out he is actually going to be doing the exact opposite.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Harden will be picking up the $35.6 million option on his contract, but it won’t be with the intent to remain in Philly. Instead, he’ll be working with the team to explore trade scenarios for him.
BREAKING: 76ers G James Harden is picking up his $35.6 million option and sides are beginning to work together in exploring trade scenarios, sources tell ESPN. It’s expected that Harden has played his last game for Philadelphia. pic.twitter.com/GguWgysfNZ
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 29, 2023
At 33 years old, Harden isn’t quite the same player that led the league in scoring for 3 consecutive seasons while he was with the Houston Rockets.
However, he is still one of the most talented players available this offseason.
He is coming off of a season where he averaged 21 points, 10.7 assists, and 6.1 rebounds per game while helping the Philadelphia 76ers get within 1 game of the Eastern Conference Finals.
There should be a few teams interested in making a deal for the star guard, but there will also be teams with concerns about trading for Harden.
This move certainly doesn’t help his image as he’ll now be playing for his 4th team in as many seasons. He also has a reputation for coming up short in big moments and his 7/27 shooting during the 6ers’ two chances to close out the Celtics didn’t help with that.
Still, James Harden’s talent will attract somebody to make a blockbuster trade this offseason in the hopes he can push them into contention.
Whoever it is will just have to hope he doesn’t decide to look for yet another team a year from now.