Free agent James Harden has agreed on a two-year, $68.6 million deal to return to the Philadelphia 76ers, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Wednesday.
The deal includes a player option for the 2023-24 season, sources said.
Harden had previously declined his $47.3 million option to become a free agent but was focused on a return to Philly, his home for the second half of last season.
Under the new deal, sources said Harden will make $33 million for the 2022-23 season, and has a $35.6 million player option for 2023-24. If he declines that option, he can be a free agent again next summer and negotiate another new deal.
Harden, who turns 33 next month, averaged 22 points and 10.3 assists across 65 games with the Nets and 76ers this past season, after being sent from Brooklyn to Philadelphia as part of the blockbuster trade that sent Ben Simmons in the other direction.
His arrival, however, didn’t change things for Philadelphia in the playoffs, as the 76ers lost in the second round for the fourth time in five years and failed yet again to reach at least the Eastern Conference finals.
Harden, the 2018 NBA Most Valuable Player, is a 10-time consecutive All-Star and a six-time All-NBA first team selection.