James Harden opts out and pitches in | Sports Daily Newsletter

Sixers fans have run the gamut with The Beard, even with his short tenure in Philadelphia. There was the honeymoon period of hope that he would be the missing element to help the Sixers advance in the playoffs and claim a title.

When that didn’t happen, Harden came in for a share of blame. Yet he may yet endear himself to fans again by opting out of his one-year contract to help the Sixers build a stronger team.

David Murphy explains the move and details how both sides are doing what’s best for each other and building trust The Sixers once had a process, now they have a plan.

Andrea Canales, Inquirer Sports Staff, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

All signs point to the 76ers acquiring P.J. Tucker and orchestrating a reunion with James Harden and Daryl Morey, who spent time with Tucker in Houston. But if there was a snag in their plans to bring Rockets East to Philly, what should the Sixers do?

They have a plethora of options now that Harden has opted out of the final year of his deal, which would have paid him $47.3 million in the 2022-23 season. The Inquirer’s Gina Mizell presents a list of options outside of Tucker and Eric Gordon, another potential target from Houston. The group of 14 players includes tiered free agents and one prospect who also declined a player option.

Next: NBA free agency kicks in at 6 p.m. Thursday, when the Sixers will likely make a flurry of deals.

Not again. Triple-A Lehigh Valley manager Anthony Contreras texted his team Tuesday night that there was a robber in their hotel and he needed them to gather in the lobby for a security meeting. Darick Hall had his wallet and bag stolen from his room in the same hotel earlier this year. But this gathering was a ruse. This time his stay at the hotel was the site of a life-changing moment when Contreras gathered the team to share some news: Six years after being drafted in the 14th round, Hall was going to big a big-leaguer.

With Bryce Harper out, Mickey Moniak will have a chance to prove he belongs. Is he up to the challenge?

Sixty-five years after he made history as the Phillies’ first African American player, the team on Wednesday night honored the life of John Irvin Kennedy.

Without Harper to lead the way, the Phillies weren’t able to muster much out of their batting order in a loss to the Braves.

Next: The Phillies close out their series against the Braves at 6:05 p.m. Thursday (NBCSP). Aaron Nola (4-5, 2.98 ERA) will start against Braves right-hander Ian Anderson (6-4, 4.60).

Eagles center Jason Kelce was swarmed by fans Wednesday during an autism fundraiser at the Shore. Kelce is a man of the people, Mike Sielski writes, the most relatable sports star in recent Philly sports history.

With just a week to go until the NHL draft and two until free agency opens on July 13, Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher delivered his usual offseason address on Wednesday.

While the GM kept things such as potential draft targets and free-agency plans close to the vest as expected, he did have a few interesting updates. Here’s what Fletcher had to say about the draft, Ryan Ellis, Sean Couturier, and more.

There’s no rest for the weary. Even as the Union recently hit the landmark of becoming an all-time winning team, the squad had to take on the Chicago Fire in a midweek game.

Things didn’t get easier for Jim Curtin and his squad Wednesday night. With four standout young players still on under-20 USA national team duty, the Union had to face the challenge shorthanded.

The team was not able to prevail.

We asked you: What would you most like to see the Sixers do during free agency? Among your responses:

“Concentrate on building a strong bench.” — James H.

“The Sixers have tried to build a championship roster by adding to their starting lineup, without success. They have weakened their bench in doing that. And some of the subtractions have gone to other teams and become starters or front-line bench players. Without his injury in the playoffs, [Joel] Embiid may have taken them further this year. And it is likely that [James] Harden will mesh better next year when he plays more with teammates under Doc Rivers. Build a world-class bench and stop trying to add more stars. Look at the recent championship Warriors’ and Raptors’ ... complete rosters.

”Examples of subtractions who would have comprised a stronger bench: [Mikal] Bridges, [Dario] Saric, [JJ] Redick, [Nerlens] Noel, [Andre] Drummond, [Landry] Shamet ... [and T.J.] McConnell.” — John W.

In honor of the 50th anniversary of Title IX being signed into law, Temple fencing head coach Nikki Franke and Inquirer journalist Olivia Reiner will discuss Franke’s beginnings at Temple, the growth of the program, and the opportunities she’s continuing to create in the sport and beyond. Join the discussion on Instagram at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Keith Pompey, Gina Mizell, Alex Coffey, Scott Lauber, Giana Han, Isabella DiAmore, and Megan Swanick.