At the press conference after joining Philadelphia, Harden was very happy. At the same time, he also gave Philadelphia a reassuring pill.
Harden said: "I will execute the $47.4 million contract option for the 2022-23 season."
The reason why this is a reassurance for Philadelphia is that Harden will only have to explicitly state that he will be with the Philadelphia team for a longer period of time, at least not more than this season. In this way, Philadelphia can get the chips he sent for the transaction to be valuable, and the two sides can cooperate for a longer period of time.
Otherwise, if Harden doesn't execute on next season's contract options, with the two sides still far from starting new contract negotiations, it could also mean hardening the waters of free market by jumping out of the contract option this summer. Although it is only possible, given that the NBA has not seen surprising operations in recent years, any team strives for a "stable" word in the transaction or contract negotiation.
With Harden's official statement, and Philadelphia now indeed looking like Harden's best place to go, it also means that Harden may not be able to sign a five-year, $270 million cap this summer.
Previously, NBA salary expert Bobby Max had calculated that if Harden did not implement the contract option for next season this summer, he could sign up to a five-year, $269 million top salary contract with Philadelphia.
Now, Harden will execute on next season's contract options, which could mean that his negotiations with Philadelphia on a new contract will be delayed.
Of course, it is not excluded that after Harden executes the contract option for next season, the two sides will continue to negotiate a new contract. But in that case, the new contract between the two sides may have to be recalculated, perhaps, the contract is higher than 270 million, after all, the future NBA salary cap will be raised, and the salaries of superstars will also increase.
As for now, Harden's goal is to lead the team to the championship with Embiid. After leaving the Nets, leaving Durant and Irving, can Harden really feel at ease and focus on leading the team to compete for the championship? It will only be to be seen.