James Harden gave the Philadelphia 76ers a bit of a discount on his last contract, but that might not be the case this offseason.
Harden got a two-year, $68.4 million contract from the Sixers last year that includes a $35.6 million player option for the upcoming season. He is expected to decline his player option and become an unrestricted free agent.
The Sixers want to re-sign Harden, but that will likely come at a higher cost.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported on “Get Up” Wednesday that he expects Philly’s offer to Harden to be for “considerably higher” money than the $35.6 million player option.
Although Windhorst said it was not a done deal, he still expects Harden to return to Philadelphia.
Harden changed his game during his first full season in Philly. Rather than serve as a major scorer, he focused on facilitating and led the league with 10.7 assists per game while averaging 21.0 points per contest. He also shot 38.5 percent on three-pointers. The Sixers went 54-28 and won their most games since the 2000-01 season with Allen Iverson. However, they lost in the conference semifinals for the third straight season.
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