Things haven’t gone so well for the Philadelphia 76ers ever since Joel Embiid and company were knocked out of the NBA playoffs by the Boston Celtics.
As if failing to live up to expectations yet again in the postseason wasn’t bad enough, the team will now lose superstar guard James Harden, who led the league in assists per game this past season, as he has asked Philadelphia to trade him.
So instead of trying to find the missing pieces around their superstars in NBA free agency, the 76ers brass will be focused on trading Harden with hopes of getting some value in return for the veteran guard.
Along with the Harden trade saga, the team has let it be known that they don’t intend to sign rising star Tyrese Maxey to a contract extension this summer, which was a surprising development, to say the least.
However, Bobby Marks of ESPN has explained the reasoning behind not extending Maxey’s contract this summer, and it makes perfect sense.
Maxey has a low $13M free agent cap hold in 2024.
If he signed an extension starting at $30M for example, Philadelphia will lose $17M in room.
The 76ers have only 2 players with guaranteed contracts in 2024-25:
Joel Embiid and PJ Tucker https://t.co/eAXzRa7Q8f
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) June 30, 2023
The 76ers are looking toward the future, which has likely been derailed due to Harden wanting out.
The long-term plans for Philadelphia clearly involved Maxey and justifiably so, but it remains to be seen what the team does this summer in NBA free agency and how things pan out during the 2023-24 campaign, as it could be rough with the void left by Harden.
Only time will tell what the 76ers look like next season and how happy they can keep Embiid if the team has taken a step back.
NEXT: 76ers Reporter Shares Intriguing Tyrese Maxey Report
