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One-time NBA MVP James Harden is picking up his $35.6 million player option with the 76ers in anticipation of working with the team on a trade out of Philadelphia, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports.
The Los Angeles Clippers and New York Knicks are expected to pursue trade dialogue with the Sixers, according to Wojnarowski. The Athletic's Shams Charania reported "the 76ers made it clear throughout the process that the franchise did not see a long-term future with Harden."
Harden is not extension eligible this offseason, per Spotrac's Keith Smith, since he signed a two-year deal last offseason with the Sixers. He will be an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Harden, who turns 34 years old in August, averaged 21 points, a league-high 10.7 assists and 6.1 rebounds per game for the Sixers this past season, making his 10th straight All-Star appearance. A strained tendon in his right foot and a sore left Achilles tendon cost him 24 games during the regular season and a possible All-NBA appearance — a growing trend in his career. Soft-tissue injuries also sidelined Harden in his two previous seasons, and he has not made an All-NBA roster since he was on the Houston Rockets in 2020.
The postseason has been no kinder to Harden. In his lone playoff appearance for the Brooklyn Nets, a strained right hamstring severely limited him in a 2021 Eastern Conference semifinals loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, and he cited a strained left hamstring for his poor performance in Philadelphia's second-round loss to the Miami Heat a year later. There was no excuse but age for this year's effort over four conference finals losses to the Boston Celtics (12.5 points per game on 21.8% shooting from the field and 12.5% from deep).
Harden has played for three different teams since January 2021. He has torched superstar partnerships with Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving over the past seven years, all because his preferred playing style requires him to hold the ball for entire possessions. Leaving Philadelphia would mean adding Joel Embiid, the league's reigning MVP, to his list of former teammates.
Doc Rivers called coaching Harden this past season "challenging" on a recent Bill Simmons podcast.
"We were fighting two things," said Rivers, who cited Harden's age as a primary reason for his penchant to stagnate an offense. "James is so good at playing one way, and the way I believe you have to play to win, in some ways, is different, because it's a lot of giving up the ball, moving the ball, coming back to the ball."
The Sixers fired Rivers and replaced him with former Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse this offseason.
Daniel Weinman was crowned winner of the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event on Monday, taking home a record breaking $12.1 million in winnings. Weinman had to outlast the other 10,043 entrants to take home the prize and get his hands on his share of live poker’s largest ever prize pool – a staggering $93,399,900. As well as taking home the prize money, 35-year-old Weinman also got his hands on the WSOP Main Event bracelet. The huge bracelet contains 500 grams of 10-karat yellow gold, as well as 2,352 various precious gemstones.
Daniel Weinman won the World Series of Poker's main event world championship on Monday in Las Vegas, earning $12.1 million along the way. Playing in the tournament for a 16th year, Weinman was tops in a deep pool of 10,043 players vying for $93.39 million. His victory came after just 164 hands at the final table. "I was honestly on the fence about even coming back and playing this tournament," the 35-year-old Atlanta native told reporters afterward. Weinman's final table featured Jan-Peter Jachtmann, who landed in fourth place and took home $3 million, as well as Toby Lewis, who finished seventh and secured $1.42 million. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the main event's entry pool far outpaced the previous record of 8,773 set in 2006. "I've always kind of felt that poker was kind of going in a dying direction, but to see the numbers at the World Series this year has been incredible," Weinman said. "And to win this main event, it doesn't feel real. I mean, [there's] so much luck in a poker tournament. I thought I played very well." Steven Jones finished second, securing $6.5 million. And Adam Walton settled for third and a $4 million prize.
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