The Philadelphia 76ers are planning to make a splash early in free agency when it opens Thursday at 6 p.m. EDT. To do what they want, they have to clear some money off the books.
The Sixers have their eyes on P.J. Tucker. To sign the 2021 NBA champion on the desired three-year $30 million deal they want to offer, the Sixers need some help. They could either make trades to clear space or James Harden could chip in.
Harden did.
He will officially decline his $47.3 million player option for the 2022-23 season and restructure his deal. This allows Harden to get his money at a little less than the max and clears the way for Philadelphia to sign P.J. Tucker when free agency opens.
The opt-out could go a long way in reshaping the Sixers’ bench, including that full mid-level exception, $4.1M bi-annual exception and sign-and-trades.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 29, 2022
The move shows Harden is committed to winning. Now, the Sixers must do their part to obtain the right pieces around Harden and Joel Embiid for the 2022-23 season.
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