James Harden‘s future is hard to predict at this point, although he has made it clear that he doesn’t want to be in Philadelphia. The 10-time All-Star has demanded a trade away from the Sixers after opting into the final year of his current contract.
James Harden will be a free agent next season, and at 35, likely won’t be getting the max from any teams. An NBA fan on Reddit made a table to explain how Harden has possibly lost out on $100 million. And it all has to do with the decision to leave the Brooklyn Nets.
The Brooklyn Nets wanted to keep James Harden with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, but he demanded a trade in 2022 after saying something else. He was moved to the Sixers at the trade deadline after he asked to leave, but the team reportedly wanted to give him the max contract to keep him with Durant. That would have meant that James Harden would have made $275.4 million between 2022 and 2027.
Harden was set to become a free agent in 2022 after his $117 million contract from the Rockets expired. He was then in line to get a 5-year max extension from the Nets. This would have seen him make $47.4 million and $51.0 million for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. Instead, he went to the Sixers, where he took a smaller contract to help the team and got a 2-year contract worth $68 million, a $30 million gap.
Harden’s maximum contract would have increased with the salary cap too, he would have been owed $54.9 million in 2024-24, $58.8 million in 2025-26, and a whopping $63.3 million in 2026-27, when he will be 38. Instead, he will again enter free agency at the end of next season as a 35-year-old, and the projections suggest that he will only make $106.8 million on that deal, $70 million less than he might have earned.
James Harden Might Have Made A Mistake By Asking To Be Traded By The Nets
James Harden is a former MVP, with 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 10.1 assists per game, even in decline. But his decline has been visible nonetheless, and it will surely cost him when he negotiates his next contract. The Beard is not worth a max, and the Nets might have been his last opportunity to take it. It’s not like the Sixers have gone farther than the Nets in the playoffs either, so it’s seeming like a poor move in hindsight.
The reports suggest that James Harden wants to go to the Los Angeles Clippers. He would be a dangerous piece for them, but they wouldn’t have the money to give him a big contract next summer. He has to find a way to win a championship, otherwise, the weight of having given up $100 million will become a heavy burden to bear.
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