On February 6, Beijing time, the Nets have opened deal negotiations with Philadelphia about Harden, and Philadelphia is also very confident about winning Harden in the middle of the season, in addition to Philadelphia can provide enough chips, and the team's results can also meet the needs of Harden's championship. In addition, Harden's contract will also make him more inclined to leave the team in the middle of the season, rather than waiting until the summer to return to free agency before leaving.
Philadelphia journalist Austin Krell wrote an article analyzing the impact of Harden's departure at different time nodes on his next contract. Harden's current contract expires in the summer of 23 years, but this summer he has player options, so it is possible to jump out of the final year worth 47366760 dollars.
And if Harden leaves the team in the middle of the season, then Philadelphia will have his bird rights, and Harden can also sign a five-year, $270 million super salary contract with the new owner, which will also be the biggest salary Harden can get (the nets can only sign such a large contract at most).
However, if Harden applies for signing first and then changing in the offseason, then the maximum contract he can sign is 4 years and 200 million US dollars, which is a gap of 70 million US dollars from applying for a transaction and then renewing the contract in the middle of the season, which is obviously considered from the economic interests and is very unfavorable to Harden.
Of course, Harden also has a way to maximize his financial benefits, that is, not to jump out of the last 1 year of the contract in the offseason, and then apply for a deal, and then renew the contract with the new owner. Doing so would allow Harden's new contract to increase the total amount by another $5 million, but in today's situation, perhaps the amount of $70 million will have a big impact on Harden's decision, but in order to get an extra $5 million, it may not be worth it.
What's more, the Nets are probably more inclined to send Harden away before the trade deadline. After all, if he waits until the offseason, Harden can also jump out of the contract naked to sign other teams, and once Harden makes this choice, then the Nets will get nothing. Such a huge risk, the Nets probably don't want to take it, so if Harden is determined to leave, then the Nets are indeed more likely to send him away before the trade deadline.