James Harden declining his player option shows commitment to Sixers

The Philadelphia 76ers received some news on Wednesday when star guard James Harden will decline his $47.4 million player option for the 2022-23 season. On the outside, it looks like Harden is going to test the free agency waters, but the expectation is that he will re-sign with the Sixers.

The biggest piece of this news is that Harden is showing his commitment to winning with the Sixers. The future Hall of Famer could have picked up his option and handcuffed them financially, but instead, he declined it and it clears up some cap space so the team can bring in P.J. Tucker and help the roster.

Now that Harden has declined that option, the Sixers will not need to make any moves to dump salary to bring in Tucker. Philadelphia can also bring in other options to bolster their bench and make up for the depth they lost when they acquired Harden from the Brooklyn Nets.

Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski:

I think in James Harden’s mind, opting out of that deal and then negotiating a new contract here, when free agency opens, it gives the Sixers a lot more financial flexibility to go and improve this team in the offseason. He can still get long term guaranteed money or certainly guaranteed money at a very high number over a couple of years by opting out and it gives the Sixers the ability to add to their roster. They know they’ve got to get better. James Harden, he has told them he wants to win. He’s committed to winning and I think there’s a playbook here now for the Sixers and James Harden to work together and find a way to get James Harden a new deal in Philly and improve that roster. At the end of the day, I think James Harden is going to be in Philly, he’s going to be there on a new deal, and Philly is perhaps going to have the opportunity then to do some things here in free agency, make some moves that can improve a team that needs to get better in the East to compete for a championship.

It’s clear that Harden is willing to do whatever it takes in order to help the Sixers be among the top contenders in the East. He has freed up a lot of money for the Sixers to use and one can assume he will work through negotiations in order to find a contract that works for both sides.

This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!