Two days ago, the trade deadline, the 76ers and the Nets reached a deal about Harden and Simmons, and then today, according to ESPN, Harden and Millsap have passed the medical examination, which also means that the Nets and the 76ers have officially reached a deal.
However, the specific details of the deal are still a little different than previously exposed - according to previous reports by Shams, Harden will execute the remaining 47.3 million contracts as part of the deal, but the latest news is that Harden did not execute the player option, and he can still jump out of the contract to become a free agent in the offseason this year.
Labor agreement expert Bobby Marks then interpreted the operation, saying that Harden kept his own Bird clause in the deal, so that he could jump out of the contract this summer to re-sign the largest contract in history with the 76ers for 5 years, 269 million US dollars.
Harden is currently 32 years old, and if the 76ers really give him such a contract, then by the 2026-27 season, the 37-year-old Harden will earn as much as 62 million a year, to which Bobby Marks bluntly said: "From a contract point of view, in three years we will talk about Harden like we talk about Westbrook and Wall, and this contract will become the worst contract in NBA history." ”
269 million in 5 years, really exaggerated.
If Harden can be four or five years younger, then he signed such a big contract is nothing, but the problem is that Harden is really not young now, and his form has declined, averaging only 22.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 10.2 assists per game this season, shooting 41.4%/33.2%/86.9% from three fields, and shooting 57.6% from the field.
The "22+8+10" stats are definitely not bad, and it is superstar level for any player, but we are talking about Harden, as a comparison, his last three full seasons with the Rockets:
In 2017-18, he averaged 30.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game, shooting 61.9% from the field.
—— In the 2018-19 season, he averaged 36.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game, shooting 61.6% from the field.
In 2019-20, he averaged 34.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game, shooting 62.6% from the field.
The above three years are also the peak of Harden's career, during which he won 1 MVP, 3 scoring champions, and led the team to the Western Conference Finals, leaving behind 32 consecutive 30+ games, 60+ triple-doubles in a single game.
Harden really worried about injuries, since last year's hamstring injury, Harden seems to have not eased up, the original score such as probing the bag now even a 40+ is very difficult, the highest score this season is only 39 points, 30+ times is only 9 times, as a comparison, less than three years ago in the 2018-19 season, Harden cut a total of 57 times 30+, 28 times 40+, 9 times 50+, 2 times 60+.
So in terms of contracts, the 76ers need to be handled carefully, after all, before Harden re-proves himself, no one knows whether he is a permanent decline, in case Harden does not return to the level that people expect, then the oversized contract is likely to lock the future of the 76ers.
Again, let's talk about Harden's application for a trade.
According to marc Stein, a well-known journalist, league officials and some bosses will explore the method of punishing and restricting players from applying for a trade in the next collective bargain, which may be a fine.
According to sources, team owners are worried that other high-paying players will follow Harden's example, which has been forced to apply for trades in the form of "strikes" in Houston and Brooklyn for the past two consecutive years.
Sounds like the league is going to have a clause because of Harden?
The fact is that Harden is not the first to apply for a trade, in the past five years alone, George has applied for a trade in the Pacers, Leonard in the Spurs, Irving in the Cavaliers, Thick Brow in the Pelicans, ben Simmons in 76 people, but this time the difference is that Harden has applied to leave for two consecutive seasons, with an interval of only 13 months.
The Rockets will not talk about it during the period, only discuss this transaction, it is undeniable that Harden has really tried, last season's best two consecutive months, the playoff hamstring injury forced comeback all represent his determination, but this season the Nets have too many variables, Durant's injury, Irving's special situation, Nash's tactical system more or less affected Harden's decision.
Of course, now that the deal has been reached, there is not much need to pursue the past, but since the application for a deal has left, it is inevitable to be blamed and questioned by the fans, and the only thing that can break these doubts is victory and the championship, I hope that this time, Harden went to a place that was right for him.