James Harden’s contract situation: Salary, years left

When the Houston Rockets lost James Harden to free agency, there was much hand-wringing in Space City. The Philadelphia 76ers jumped on the opportunity to sign one of the NBA’s most prolific scorers after an unfulfilling season in Brooklyn and signed him to a two-year deal that lasts through the end of 2023-24.

Harden’s deal sees him getting $68,640,000 guaranteed and saw the 76ers send Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, and Andre Drummond, an unprotected 2022 first-round draft pick, and an unprotected 2027 first-round draft pick Brooklyn’s way.

His 2023-34 season is a player option, so theoretically he could elect to leave in the summer free agency period, an idea that has Rockets fans salivating. Philadelphia says that they are unconcerned, indicating that they feel that Harden is happy where he is. In any case, Harden reaches unrestricted free agency in 2024.

However, the 76ers will be limited in how many years they can offer Harden by the “Over 38 Rule”, limiting their max offer to four years instead of five. With the salary cap in play, this could severely skew the numbers in play. If they do manage to keep him, the max that they could offer would be $46.9 million per year and include an 8% annual rise.

Assuming that the Sixers are happy to max out Harden, they could only offer four years this summer, not five, and this would see him earning a mammoth $61.9 million for the 2027-28 season. If money is the sticking point, and for Harden that isn’t always a given, then this is his best bet. But with his past record of taking less money to be on the team that he likes, anything is possible.