Sixers Notes: Harden Watch, Chris Paul Rumors, Maxey Extension Talks, More

A busy summer awaits.

Adam Aaronson, whose legal name is Sixers Adam (@SixersAdam on Twitter), covers the Sixers for The Rights To Ricky Sanchez. He believes cantaloupe is the best food in existence, and is brought to you by the Official Realtor of The Process, Adam Ksebe.

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We are less than two weeks away from the NBA Draft, which will be followed up by free agency about a week later, and it is no secret that the Philadelphia 76ers have some crucial decisions to make in the coming weeks.

Of course it all starts with the future of James Harden, and what issues present themselves after a decision is made there depends on what that decision actually is. But regardless, the Sixers will be one of the NBA’s most busy teams over the next six weeks or so. Let’s dive into some of it:

Harden Watch

Harden’s free agency still appears to be a two-horse race between the Sixers and Houston Rockets. While Houston’s timeline and personnel are both odd fits for Harden, the potential of returning to a city in which he became an icon and the chance to be paid handsomely to do so is understandably attractive for Harden.

The Rockets have a massive amount of cap space this summer and could perhaps price the Sixers out by offering him more years and/or dollars than Sixers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey’s front office is willing to give him.

Harden’s interest in a Rockets return is pretty cut and dry. The ultimate question, however, is this: how much interest does the soon-to-be 34-year old lacking a championship ring actually have in joining a rebuild and essentially punting on the chance to be a main cog of a championship team? 

Winning a title as Joel Embiid’s sidekick in Philadelphia is obviously going to be an uphill battle for Harden. It is far from guaranteed that those two will even lead the Sixers past the second round. But it is at least within the realm of possibility that they contend for a title. That chance likely will not exist in Houston while Harden remains an All-Star-caliber player.

Will Harden choose comfort -- and perhaps money -- over his last opportunity to be a big part of a championship contender? Time will tell

Chris Paul?!

News broke earlier this week that the Phoenix Suns are strongly considering waiving the future Hall of Fame point guard, who is guaranteed just $15.8 million of his $30.8 million salary for next season. 

There are scenarios in which the Suns can do this and still retain Paul on a new contract. But Paul could also become a free agent, or Phoenix can attempt to include him in a trade.

In the last few days, a few reliable insiders have reported that there are whispers in league circles about the Suns trying to use Paul’s massive salary to facilitate a sign-and-trade with the Sixers that would send Harden to Phoenix. There are no indications that this idea has legs, but if the whispers were loud enough to alert some folks in the league, it should at least be considered a minor possibility.

Anyone who follows me on social media knows that Paul has been my favorite player in the league for years (yes, I know this makes me insane). But as Paul’s biggest admirer, I find it outrageous to expect him to be the second-best player on a championship team at the age of 38. If the Sixers flipped Harden for Paul, their only path to being a contender would be f0r Tyrese Maxey to make an enormous leap immediately. 

Things may not work out with Harden, but he at least gives the Sixers a much higher upside than just about any player the team attempts to replace him with.

Second Apron

In the past, there has been a threshold called the Tax Apron -- it is a number above the luxury tax that, if reached, imposes certain sanctions on a team. The most notable impacts have been that it bars teams from executing a sign-and-trade, and it only allows them to use the taxpayer’s mid-level exception rather than the non-taxpayer’s MLE, which is almost twice as valuable. They also are barred from using the bi-annual exception.

The NBA and NBPA agreed on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) last month that presents many new extreme challenges to the biggest spenders across the league. These challenges come from the new second apron. 

This apron, which will be a higher threshold than the first, imposes some brutal sanctions on the most expensive rosters: they get access to no mid-level exception at all,  they cannot take in more salary than they send out in any trade, they cannot trade cash considerations, they can only add to their roster with veteran’s minimum contracts and draft picks, and they are not allowed to sign players who have been bought out.

The Sixers can pretty easily avoid the second apron this year, but it is something they will have to keep in mind moving forward with Embiid’s contract, a potential deal for Harden or a surprise star replacement, as well as another big deal that will soon enter their cap sheet. That leads me to…

Maxey Extension

Maxey becomes eligible to sign a contract extension this summer, a deal that would kick in beginning in the 2024-25 season. He will remain under contract for about $4.3 million next year no matter what, but this offseason is his chance to secure a massive pay-day.

The maximum extension for Maxey would be a five-year deal worth just north of $207 million. While those are massive numbers, they are proportional with the salary cap as it has been increasing over the years.

There is no question that Maxey’s agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, will set an initial price tag at that maximum number. Maxey is right on the bubble in terms of players from the 2020 draft class who have a credible case to earn that kind of money. Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball, for example, are virtual locks to get those numbers. Maxey is generally not regarded as someone in the same tier as those two, but his camp will argue he has earned that kind of money.

The Sixers will likely respond by comparing him to players like Tyler Herro and Jordan Poole, who got four-year deals that are just below the maximum. They could offer Maxey a similar deal, or even a five-year deal that is just below the maximum (which was not allowed again until this year with the new CBA -- in recent years, any five-year deal had to be a maximum -- now, a five-year sub-maximum is legal).

If the sides do not agree on an extension, Maxey would become a restricted free agent after the upcoming season. The Sixers would have the right to match any offer sheet Maxey signed, virtually confirming that, as long as the Sixers still want Maxey in the fold, his second contract will be played out in Philadelphia.

Nick Nurse’s Staff

Doc Rivers’ coaching ability was often questioned during his time with the Sixers, but just about everyone agreed that he assembled an exemplary coaching staff. In particular, Rivers relied on three rather high-profile assistants: Sam Cassell, Dave Joerger and Dan Burke. 

Cassell recently agreed to a deal to join Joe Mazzulla’s coaching staff in Boston, and on Friday afternoon, Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports reported that the defensive-minded Burke is joining Monty Williams’ coaching staff in Detroit. Joerger’s status remains unclear.

This is not surprising -- nearly every well-established coach gets to put together their own staff. Prominent assistants will sometimes remain with an organization amid a head coaching change, but it is common practice for them to seek out other opportunities.

We know just about nothing regarding Nurse’s staff as of now -- especially because his lead assistant in Toronto, Adrian Griffin Sr., recently became head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks.

Cassell was particularly close with Harden and Maxey, especially the latter, who he took under his wing for each of their first three years together -- Maxey was the first draft pick the team made after hiring Rivers and his assistants like Cassell.

Burke has long been known as a defensive-oriented coach, perhaps even a coordinator of sorts. It will be interesting to see if Nurse seeks out similar specialists within his coaching staff to more-easily delegate responsibilities. We should hear news about his staff in the coming weeks.