CAMDEN, N.J.–The Philadelphia 76ers were able to have one of the more successful offseasons in the NBA thanks to the help of James Harden. The Beard took a big pay cut after opting out of his $44.7 million player option in order to free up cap space in free agency.
With that money, the Sixers went out and brought in PJ Tucker, Danuel House Jr., and Montrezl Harrell in free agency in order to fix the team’s issues of toughness, depth, and two-way players. The Sixers could not have done that without Harden taking the pay cut.
Harden recently was upset that he doesn’t get enough credit for taking the pay cut, but Tobias Harris is here to let him know that the team certainly appreciates him.
“In all, this is a great group to be around,” said Harris. “I respect James. I respect the hell out of James as a player, as a person. I think every man on this team does as well. So I believe that’s all you can ask for as a player and as a human at the end of the day.”
Harris then added that it does not matter what the outside world thinks of Harden and the Sixers at the moment. It’s all about the team and making sacrifices for each other in order to succeed.
“I don’t really look like outside credit and (expletive) like that,” Harris added. “I know internally in this group, everybody appreciates everybody’s commitment to the group, to the team, and what everybody brings to the table. For us, it’s about winning, and everybody here on this team has a good bond with the next guy. It’s been all positive vibes here at training camp.”
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