James Harden has a wink-wink guarantee from the Rockets?

The 76ers managed to sign both P.J. Tucker and Danuel House while also trading for De’Anthony Melton given the flexibility offered by Harden. “There is a suspicion in some corners of the league that Harden had to have consented to this arrangement because he also secured a wink-wink guarantee about the future — meaning a promise from Morey that would allow Harden to recoup what he left on the table this offseason by declining the player option for next season in his new Sixers deal and then signing a whopper of a five-year deal in the summer of 2023 at almost 34,” writes Stein. “Such speculation is inevitable given how close Morey and Harden clearly are, but I’ve also heard plenty around the league question whether the Sixers, beyond the fact that these types of arrangements are against league rules, could actually bring themselves to give Harden any assurances.”
Source: RealGM

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
Speculation that 76ers gave “wink-wink guarantee” to Harden for big payday next summer nba.nbcsports.com/2022/07/24/spe… – 8:02 AM StatMuse @statmuse
Regular season leaders over the last 10 seasons:
PTS — James Harden
REB — Andre Drummond
AST — Russell Westbrook
STL — Chris Paul
BLK — Anthony Davis
FG — LeBron James
3P — Steph Curry pic.twitter.com/VYP1d7uxcG – 3:38 PM Salman Ali @SalmanAliNBA
Catching up on old pods I couldn’t listen to during the season and found this particular clip hilarious:
“ didn’t force a trade as James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Anthony Davis did. He fulfilled his contract. That’s why he objects to the criticism.” pic.twitter.com/3N4Kc2A6Sx – 11:20 AM StatMuse @statmuse
Most 3-pointers since 2017:
1,524 — Stephen Curry
1,473 — James Harden
1,417 — Buddy Hield
Elite shooting. pic.twitter.com/mVqzfczUep – 2:27 PM Marc Stein @TheSteinLine
The James Harden/Daryl Morey “lovefest” … plus the usual spree of around-the-league notes … all via my latest This Week in Basketball column freshly dispatched to inboxes worldwide: marcstein.substack.com/p/an-nba-lovef… – 1:48 PM Brian Windhorst @WindhorstESPN
New podcast. James Harden allowed the Sixers to restructure so what are their title chances now & what will Russell Westbrook’s next move be (w/@Tim MacMahon & @Tim Bontemps): spoti.fi/3IXIAz6 – 11:34 AM StatMuse @statmuse
Most PPG by quarter since 2015:
1st — Stephen Curry (8.1)
2nd — James Harden (7.1)
3rd — Stephen Curry (8.9)
4th — LeBron James (7.2)
Harden is top 3 for every quarter. pic.twitter.com/fp1ZTkqcb5 – 10:10 AM Austin Krell @NBAKrell
Lots of commentary online suggesting James Harden will absolutely opt out next summer, which implies expectation that Harden has a very nice “bounce-back” year.
Danny Green was the only rotation player subtracted, so why does it seem consensus is lower on the team in 2022-23? – 7:43 PM Ky Carlin @Ky_Carlin
James Harden has been signed. Joel Embiid is healthy. Tyrese Maxey is a rising star. Daryl Morey brought in guys who fit on the roster. There are no more excuses. It’s championship or bust in 2023. #Sixers sixerswire.usatoday.com/2022/07/21/six… via @SixersWire – 7:12 PM Eric Pincus @EricPincus
Latest @BleacherReport Daryl Morey, James Harden Are Playing a Dangerous Game in Philly bleacherreport.com/articles/10042… – 4:25 PM Brian Robb @BrianTRobb
New: James Harden agreed to take a massive paycut in his new deal with Sixers. A look at the potential ramifications of that for the #Celtics this year and beyond in a loaded Eastern Conference. masslive.com/celtics/2022/0… – 12:06 PM The Ringer @ringernba
✓ James Harden re-signing with the Sixers
✓ The recent news around Russ and the Lakers
✓ Washed or Not: Best remaining free agents edition
#RingerNBA with @Justin Verrier and @Seerat Sohi: open.spotify.com/episode/7yS7PF… – 11:58 AM StatMuse @statmuse
Most all-time playoff points without winning a ring:
4,761 — Karl Malone
3,623 — Elgin Baylor
3,414 — James Harden
2,972 — Reggie Miller
2,894 — Chris Paul pic.twitter.com/PM2HrBeXrE – 9:34 AM Eurohoops @Eurohoopsnet
James Harden sticking around and additional depth for the Philadelphia 76ers #NBA
eurohoops.net/en/nba-news/13… – 4:00 AM

More on this storyline

Hearing about the level of latitude James Harden says he granted the Sixers in his contract negotiations reminded me of a little-known tale stemming from Miami’s attempts to convince LeBron James to stay on South Beach in the 2014 offseason before James decided to go home to Cleveland for a second stint with the Cavaliers. That summer, Miami’s Pat Riley and noted Heat front-office strategist Andy Elisburg hosted James’ agent Rich Paul and longtime NBA agent and attorney Mark Termini, then the lead negotiator for Klutch Sports, for a meeting to discuss what the Heat could do roster-wise depending on various contract constructions … and to see if there was any way James’ representatives would agree to something less than a maximum deal to afford the Heat more financial flexibility for roster building. -via marcstein.substack.com / July 22, 2022 With a $33 million starting salary, James Harden could’ve locked himself into a maximum of five years, $191.4 million. Instead, he could decline his player option in 2023 and re-sign with the Sixers for up to five years, projected at $270 million next season. While he may not get that full amount, a strong season could put him in a position to earn a near-maximum contract, especially since the Sixers won’t have any way to replace him if he leaves. Alternatively, the player option protects him if he has a down year or suffers a significant injury. -via HoopsHype / July 21, 2022 Because Harden re-signed for only one season without an option year, he will have veto rights on a trade in 2022-23. This is because if he agrees to get traded, his Bird rights would revert to Non-Bird. That means if traded, his new team would be limited to re-signing him to four years, $141.9 million instead of the maximum, unless they have enough cap space to give him more. -via HoopsHype / July 21, 2022