James Harden has exercised his player option for the 2023-24 NBA season on his contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, but he does not plan on staying on the team, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
The 33-year-old guard and Sixers management are now exploring trade scenarios, and it is widely believed that Harden has played his last game in a Sixers uniform.
Harden's opt-in is worth $35.6 million in salary for the upcoming season, and the franchise made it clear throughout the process that they did not see a long-term future with the 2018 NBA MVP, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
The Sixers were eliminated in the playoffs by the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, where Harden put up 9 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists.
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Heat and Clippers Expected To Chase Harden
Charania added that the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Clippers are expected to be in the running to acquire the ten-time All-Star.
While unrestricted free agency or a sign-and-trade might be the more ideal move for Harden if he wanted a new scenery instead of opting in his contract, there weren't any interested teams with enough cap space to pay the league's leader in assists more than $35.6 million this upcoming season.
This is Harden's third trade request in the last two years, having done the same with the Houston Rockets in 2021 and the Brooklyn Nets last year.
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