The NBA’s free agency period kicks off Thursday night at 6 p.m. EST, and the Philadelphia 76ers have their eyes set on rebuilding their depth and bringing in PJ Tucker on a deal.
The Sixers had to give up a lot to take over James Harden and now it’s time to rebuild that and build a stronger roster and compete in the Eastern Conference. The addition of Tucker is seen as a piece that can help them get over the top in the East and push them back in the right direction.
At this point, the Sixers don’t have the cap space to sign Tucker to that $30 million 3-year deal he expects to receive from Philadelphia. To free up the cap space, the Sixers will need to make some trades, but if Harden decides to ditch his player option and restructure his deal, that could help bring in Tucker.
Per Brian Windhorst on ESPN’s “Get Up” ahead of the 5pm EST Wednesday deadline for Harden to make his decision:
James Harden will stay with Philly on a medium term contract, probably not a 5 year deal, but maybe a 3 year deal, maybe a 4 year deal, depending on the warranty, but I don’t think we should necessarily assume that he’s going to opt for that $47 million. And maybe this is one of the reasons why today’s deadline is approaching. Philly needs to rebuild the depth they lost in that trade and if Harden is willing to take less of the max, which he appears to be doing, he could forgo that contract, cut his salary from $47 million for the next one. year as part of a new deal that will likely guarantee him more than $100 million, and then that would free up the Sixers to use their entire $10 million mid-level exception. They already made a move last week, but they traded for De’Anthony Melton at the draft to support their bank. They might want to sign a guy like PJ Tucker, but to get PJ Tucker on their books they’ll have to shed some money, and one of the ways they can do that is by having Harden restructure that contract.
It’s a foregone conclusion that Harden will be in Philadelphia for at least a few years. President Daryl Morey loves him and the two sides will have to decide how to proceed with this. Unsubscribing from Harden will be a big help in acquiring Tucker when the free desk opens.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire† follow us on facebook†
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