The Harden deal was bound to attract this attention.
There were tampering allegations pre-Harden to the Sixers trade and Michael Rubin sold his stake a few months ago because of a conflict of interest.
The Harden discount not only improved the roster, it saved the Sixers millions in luxury tax penalties.
The Sixers are repeat offenders having exceeded the luxury tax limit in 2021-22, Harden’s extension saved $14M in salary and approximately $50M in luxury tax for this season alone.
Surely, the NBA, except for the Sixers, and NBAPA are against this deal; one for circumventing the tax and the other for accepting a less than market value deal.