People across the NBA are celebrating the generosity and team spirit coming from James Harden of the Philadelphia 76ers.
Harden hasn’t always been known a team player – in fact, quite the opposite has been true as Harden has been criticized for being selfish and only focused on himself.
That wasn’t the case on Wednesday as Harden decided to decline this $47 million option with the 76ers.
He will still sign a deal with the team and make tons of money but his decision will lessen the amount he gets and will grant the team more financial flexibility to land assets via a trade.
Either the 76ers are pulling off some serious cap wizardry or Kyrie Irving distracted us from the fact that James Harden is actually the one taking a $30M pay cut.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) June 29, 2022
It’s a pretty big move by Harden, as NBA analyst Keith Smith points out.
“Either the 76ers are pulling off some serious cap wizardry or Kyrie Irving distracted us from the fact that James Harden is actually the one taking a $30M pay cut,” he said on Twitter.
We’re not exactly sure if Harden will be losing close to $30 million, although it will be a lot.
No matter the actual total, Harden is putting a lot on the line for success.
Focused On The Finals
Apparently Harden has turned over a new leaf and is fully committed to going far with the 76ers.
The days of him giving up on his team – as he did with both the Houston Rockets and Brooklyn Nets – are seemingly gone, according to reports inside Philadelphia.
There have been multiple instances of Harden starting seasons being out of shape and with his head out of the game.
But insiders say Harden thinks Philly can win the Finals and he wants to be a huge part of that.
That could be a strong possibility, given the talent on the team.
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