Some Philadelphia 76ers fans saw some hope in yesterday’s report that James Harden was still undecided about whether or not to opt out of his $35.6 million player option. Our Bryan Toporek provided an excellent breakdown this morning on what Harden opting in could mean for the Sixers.
Basically, it would be all the future flexibility of the gap year plan, with the added competitiveness in 2023-24 of keeping Harden around. Even if you don’t think running it back has the Sixers sniffing contender status (raises hand), there would be value in staving off the potential of Joel Embiid grumbles about the franchise’s commitment to winning.