Philadelphia 76ers: James Harden just unlocked Daryl Morey’s toolbox

Welp, after weeks of anticipation and some conflicting reports,  it finally happened: James Harden had declined his player option and has become a free agent.

Oh no, what are the Philadelphia 76ers thinking? Did they lose that much faith in the 3-time scoring champion after his quiet end to the 2022 postseason? Or maybe they have their eyes set on a free agent like Bradley Beal, who similarly declined a lucrative option?

None of the above; instead, Harden actually did his old buddy Daryl Morey a massive favor in that not only can the Sixers still sign him to a new contract, which will cost less per year than his massively inflated player option, but the team now has the flexibility to use the full mid-level exception in addition to bi-annual exception.

What, you may ask, does that mean in layman’s terms? Well, let’s put it this way: James Harden just unlocked the Philadelphia 76ers’ toolbox of team-building options heading into free agency.

The Philadelphia 76ers can treat themselves to a little extra this offseason.

What is the difference between the taxpayer mid-level exception and the full, non-taxpayer mid-level exception?

Financially, about $4 million.

In terms of players? Well, that could be the difference between hearing Kate Scott call P.J. Tucker‘s name with a positive or adversarial inflection this fall, if the full MLE, worth $10.49 million, is the easiest and likely only way to get the defensive pitbull under contract for this fall and beyond.

Yes, while it’s abundantly clear the Sixers want Tucker, with James Harden one of his best basketball buddies and Joel Embiid explicitly calling him out by name as the sort of tough player the team needs moving forward, he didn’t decline his player option with the Miami Heat to take a financial haircut on what could be the final long-term contract of his career. If Daryl Morey doesn’t come correct with the right financial incentives, don’t be surprised if a return to Miami becomes far more attractive.

Fortunately, the Sixers now appear to have the full MLE at their disposal and will be able to offer up the three-year, $30 million offer Tucker is reportedly looking for.

But wait, that’s not all. No, the Sixers now also have access to the bi-annual exception at their disposal too, which is worth $4.05 million, according to Hoops Rumors. While said exception isn’t quite as flexible as the MLE, as it can only be used to sign up to a two-year deal worth the maximum value of 10.1 million, it still presents some interesting options for the Sixers, from signing a defensively versatile point guard like Delon Wright to pursuing a combo forward like Danuel House, who played with Harden and Tucker in Houston.

Keep your eyes locked on Twitter, friends; this is just heating up.

While we won’t know exactly how much money James Harden left on the table until he officially re-signs with the Philadelphia 76ers, it’s incredibly cool to see the 10-time All-Star put winning above money and give his once and current general manager the tools needed to build a contender around himself and Joel Embiid. That, if nothing else, should earn a ton of respect from fans in Philly… at least until he misses four threes in a row during some random game in October.