This article was compiled from: ESPN
Written by Bobby Marks
原标题：NBA offseason guide: Is the James Harden era over for the Sixers?
MVP Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers bid farewell to the playoffs and reached the Eastern Conference semifinals for the third year in a row. For most of the season, the 76ers were favorites to win the championship, and while they still have 10-time All-Star Harden on their roster, they're still sitting at home watching this year's Eastern Conference Finals.
What will the offseason look like for a team with eight players (including Harden) who became free agents this summer? Philadelphia had to make some important decisions about the future of Harden, Harris, and even Maxi.
Status of the roster
The first year of Embiid's Super Max contract extension came with an offseason when the team needed to make a decision. The newly crowned MVP is under contract for the next four years, however, despite the 76ers having the third-best league record since the 2020-21 season (behind the Suns and Bucks), his 76ers did not advance to the Eastern Conference finals. Harden's decision as a free agent will be about how the 76ers build their roster, not just next season, but for years to come.
Philadelphia will have eight free agents in July, and their options on how to improve their roster are rather limited. The 76ers didn't have any draft picks at the June draft and won't be traded for the first round until 2029 at the earliest. Tobias Harris will enter the final year of his contract, and while averaging 14.7 points per game and shooting 52.9 percent from the field in the playoffs, he is expected to fall victim to the cuts.
Harris is eligible for a contract extension, but if he is given a new contract, plus Embiid's $50 million and Harden and Maxi contracts, the 76ers may pay more than $150 million in annual salary for these four alone.
Financial position during the offseason
Philadelphia's finances depend on Harden's $35.6 million player option. If Harden refuses to execute the option by June 30 and signs a top-salary contract with a starting salary of $46.9 million, the 76ers will exceed the luxury tax line by $9 million and approach the $179.5 million line. The 76ers will not be allowed to use the 5 million mini-middle class, and the amount recovered in the transaction will also be limited.
If Harden leaves and signs with a team with salary space, the 76ers will still exceed the salary cap, but they can use the $12.2 million full-mid-range exception. If Harden leaves, the only way for the 76ers to lower their gross salary below the salary cap is to trade Harris' $39.7 million contract and bring back no salary in return. House and Harrell have until June 21 to choose whether or not to execute the player option, and Melton's $8 million contract will be fully guaranteed after July 4.
Management's top priority
Resigning Harden is a top priority for management, but how much will the 76ers cost? The guard is the assist king this season, has a career-best assist-to-turnover ratio, the second-highest three-point shooting percentage in his career, averages at least 20 points per game for the 11th consecutive season, and has played 52-26 in the regular season since Harden acquired in February 2022.
Harden is only the second player in the past 25 years to hit the ball and score at least 40 points in the final 30 seconds of a single playoff game. Still, Harden will turn 34 in August, the eighth most active player in total minutes played, and often struggles in the playoffs.
In the first-round series against the Nets, Harden shot 7-of-30 from the field and shot just 23.3 percent, his worst performance since tracking that number in 1996-97 (at least 25 shots from inside the box).
In the second-round series against the Green Army, Harden shot 12-of-55 from the field in games 2, 3, 6 and 7 that the 76ers lost.
The 76ers can offer Harden a four-year, $210 million contract, while a team with salary space like the Rockets can give up to $202 million for four years. Philadelphia management must consider two questions: First, is there too much financial risk at such a lucrative contract (given the new collective bargaining agreement and Harden's age), and can the two sides reach a compromise? Harden cut his salary by $14 million last season, helping Philadelphia sign Tucker and House; Second, who are the 76ers bidding against? So far, it's mainly the Rockets, where Harden has played eight seasons, and the Rockets are expected to have $60 million in salary space this summer.
Others worth considering renewal
Milton (by July 1), Jaylen McDaniels (by July 1), Paul Reed (by July 1), Harris, Melton and Korkmaz (by July 10). The team's main need is bench depth, and the 76ers expect to see half of the roster go into free agency. In terms of future draft assets, the 76ers' 2025 first round (top 6 protections) belongs to the Thunder, and if this draft pick is not sent in 2025, the Thunder will get the top 4 protection first round in 2026 or 2027. Two years after cashing in on the Thunder's pick, the 76ers still have to send a first-round pick to the Nets. The 76ers now have only three second-round picks that the 76ers can trade for draft assets.