When James Harden entered the NBA in 2009, the highest-paid player in the league, Kobe Bryant, earned just over $23 million a year. Now there are 50 players. do more than that amountand the highest paid of them, Steph Curry, will earn more than $48 million in 2022-23.
But when Harden turned down his $47.3 million player option next season to sign a new two-year contract (with a player option in year 2) worth $68.6 million that will see him take a $14 million discount next year, he became the first star player to take a pay cut of that magnitude in the modern history of the league. After all, this isn’t about Dirk Nowitzki agreeing to a friendly deal with the team at age 39 or Kevin Durant, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh losing a couple of million in the prime of their careers. Harden took a big pay cut with the goal of helping his Philadelphia 76ers build a championship contender around him and co-star Joel Embiid. reportedly telling Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey to “improve the roster, sign who we needed to sign, and give me what’s left.”
That pay cut helped the Sixers sign veteran PJ Tucker to a three-year, $33 million deal, keeping him away from the rival Miami Heat, who beat the Sixers in the 2022 playoffs. Embiid specifically mentioned Tucker as someone who he plays with the kind of toughness and physicality the Sixers lacked. saying“Ever since I’ve been here I’d be lying if I said we’ve had those kinds of guys… we never had [a] PJ Tucker”.
The Sixers also signed Danuel House Jr to a two-year, $8.4 million deal and Trevelin Queen, the 2021-22 G League MVP. The Sixers added depth, athleticism and shooting to a team that could have gone to the NBA late last year if Embiid hadn’t suffered an orbital fracture and torn ligament in his thumb during the playoffs. They wouldn’t have been able to add those players, and improve their title chances, if it wasn’t for Harden’s pay cut.
Harden is a former MVP, 10-time All-Star and three-time scoring champion who has every possible individual accolade but has never won an NBA championship. You’d think his willingness to do everything in his power to compete for a championship would be praised.
But instead, his decision to take a pay cut has been met with cynicism by pundits and fans, at least those outside of Philly.
ESPN’s Max Kellerman echoed the sentiments of many people when said: “The reason I’m being cynical is because… he’s doing two things at once: he’s helping them sign the guys and everything, House and PJ Tucker, but actually what he’s also doing is getting him an extra [guaranteed] $27 million and another year [on his deal]and maybe what he’s feeling now is, ‘I don’t know if I’m going to get that in two years.'” Others have speculated that Harden will get the money back in some playful way, either off the books or in the form of an extension to long-term secretly promised next offseason.
But all of that is just speculation, and nothing is guaranteed in the NBA, as an injury at age 32 could significantly affect Harden’s future earnings. This was possibly his last chance to cash in, especially with his abilities seemingly on the decline. But instead of taking his $47 million player option next season or taking the maximum amount as a free agent on the open market, which the Sixers likely would have had to match, since they have so little clout and couldn’t see him walk . for nothing – took a discount. That’s what we know.
“[I’m] cynical just because people a lot of times frame things as unselfish, and they almost always are selfish,” Kellerman added, while acknowledging that Harden turned down long-term extensions from his two previous teams, the Houston Rockets and Brooklyn. Nets, because he didn’t like the direction the franchises were taking. So yes, it is a self-interest movement, but not monetarily speaking: perhaps the idea that people can have self-interest outside of money is too difficult for some people to grasp.
Aside from speculating about Harden’s hidden agendas, what’s upsetting is that the same people who criticize players like Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal for taking as much money as possible to keep their middleweight franchises, which have failed to build championship caliber all around. again and again, they also criticize Harden for taking less money to try to win a championship. The same people who laugh at Chris Paul and Charles Barkley for never winning a title will laugh at Harden cutting his salary to try to do so.
Perhaps it is because of Harden’s past that he is criticized in this way. After all, this is the same player who forced his Rockets to trade an excellent Chris Paul for an ill-fitting Russell Westbrook because he was frustrated with the partnership. He’s the same player who made his way from the Rockets to the Nets after showing himself unfit to play, and then from the Nets to the Sixers after becoming frustrated with the Kyrie Irving situation, all in the span of a year. Not to mention the same player who, um, enjoy a good party. But is it fair to attack Harden for learning from his past and finally sticking with a team and doing everything he can to help them win?
Harden seems to be at a point in his career where he’s willing to sacrifice himself for the good of the team and, more importantly, for his first NBA championship. After doing $269m in his career on the court and more than $200 million from Adidas (plus more from other endorsements), Harden is willing to leave a significant amount of money on the table to achieve his lifelong dream of winning a championship. And that is somehow seen as a bad thing.
The real reason so many people seem to be upset with Harden’s decision is because they don’t like Harden based on what he’s done in the past, or because they’re just jealous that the star player in their favorite team will not do the same. That’s not to say other star players should feel pressured to take a discount like Harden did, just that if they do, they should be praised, not blamed.
After all, it’s decisions like these that make a salary-cap league like the NBA more competitive. The Sixers could now realistically compete with the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks in a playoff series, and that makes for good television, at least.
When it comes to creating a healthy work culture — something the Sixers haven’t been successful at over the course of Embiid’s tenure — a move like this could help foster a lot of goodwill among the rest of the roster, with other players. more likely to sacrifice. on and off the field for the good of the team.
The Sixers probably won’t win the championship next season, but sometimes method matters as much as results. And giving them a slightly better shot at a title when depth matters more than ever and when most stars seem more focused on maximizing their profits than winning, that’s commendable. And more than that, it could be inspiring.
Harden could set a new precedent in the NBA for other superstars to follow. Even if the Sixers don’t win it all, Harden could show the next generation that once he’s garnered enough individual accolades and made enough money, he can do it, regardless of what the talking heads say. Also, if Harden wins a championship or even two, there’s no telling how much more money he could make in endorsement deals and post-career opportunities from him due to his success, like Garnett starring in Uncut Gems..
Harden could have taken the easy way out and cashed out, but instead he did what few superstars were willing to do before him and put his money where his mouth is. Now we wait and see what impact that decision will have on the future of the NBA.