James Harden is taking a $15 million paycut for next season that allowed the Philadelphia 76ers to elevate their roster with the focus on a championship run in 2023, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.

Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden is declining his $47.4 million player option for the 2022-23 season to become a free agent, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium. 

Two weeks before the NBA free agency starts (June 30), James Harden will most likely re-sign with the Philadelphia 76ers on a shorter-term contract extension, according to Bleacher Reports' Jake Fischer.

The Brooklyn Nets acquired a 2022 first-round draft pick in the trade that sent James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers in February, but they've decided not to use it in the upcoming NBA draft.

Amar'e Stoudemire is leaving his player development assistant post with the Brooklyn Nets and said the franchise needs to take a harder stance against star guard Kyrie Irving, via ESPN.

Irving was limited to road games for the majority of the season because of his view on the COVID-19 vaccination and the City of New York policy that kept him off the court for games in Brooklyn. He played 29 regular-season games in 2021-22.

A seven-time All-Star guard, Irving averaged 27.4 points, 5.8 assists, and 4.4 rebounds this campaign. He scored a career-high 60 points in a 150-108 win against the Magic in Orlando on March 15.

"It definitely hurt us because we didn't have consistency enough with Kyrie to build chemistry with the group, with the team. He's playing only away games depending on which city it is, can't play in New York, therefore we had different lineups and different matchups depending on the game schedule.

So, it made it difficult for us, coaches, to figure out who's going to play in spite of Kyrie. It was difficult to manage that so yeah, it was part of that," ⁠Stoudemire spoke on ESPN's morning talk shows.

After the loss to the Miami Heat last night, The Philadelphia 76ers were eliminated from the Eastern Conference semifinals for the fourth time in five years.

After acquiring James Harden at the trade deadline, the Philadelphia 76ers hoped this would finally be the year they break through and make it into the conference finals and beyond in the NBA playoffs.

Alhough, Harden was a non-factor in the Game 6 against Miami, taking just nine shots, including two in the second half, and scoring 11 points.

Another 76ers superstar Joel Embiid gave his own explanation about The Beard‘s performance being very straightfoward.

"Since we got him, everybody expected the Houston James Harden," Embiid said. "But that's not who he is anymore. He's more of a playmaker. I thought, at times, he could have been, as all of us could have been, more aggressive. All of us whether it was Tyrese Maxey or Tobias Harris or guys coming off the bench.

Though, Embiid didn‘t want to blame nor Harden, nor any other player for the loss in Eastern semifinals.

"Everybody's got to get better," Embiid said. "It's not just not just about me or Harden. From 1 through 15, there's a reason why we lost to Miami. That means we all were not good enough. So everybody just has to be better."

Harden averaged 19.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 6.6 assists in the series against the Heat.

However, with the exception of the Brooklyn Nets' series against the Milwaukee Bucks last season, where Harden played throughout the injuries, that was his worst series since 2012, the last in Oklahoma.