The Philadelphia 76ers might be stuck between a rock and a hard(en) place this offseason.
If James Harden heads back to the Houston Rockets as a free agent, the Sixers won’t have much financial flexibility to retool around reigning MVP Joel Embiid. That could incentivize them to pony up for the soon-to-be 34-year-old, although the specter of the NBA’s punishing new collective bargaining agreement will loom large over those negotiations.
But if Harden does walk, the Sixers figure to explore ways to retool around Embiid this summer before perhaps making a bigger splash in 2024.