The James Harden saga in Philly is finally over, with the Philadelphia 76ers sending the former NBA Most Valuable Player to the Los Angeles Clippers. But there seem to be other items on the Sixers front office's to-do list, with Adrian Wojnarowski floating the idea that Philadelphia could hunt for another star player in the next summer to pair up with Joel Embiid.

“The hope is [the Sixers] can have a team by the trade deadline that can compete for an Eastern Conference championship and they can go star hunting this summer around [Joel] Embiid.”

Even with Harden no longer on the team, the Sixers are still widely viewed as a top contender for the NBA title this season. The Sixers likely knew even before the 2023-24 NBA season started that they were not going to hold on to Harden for long, especially given his damaged relationship with Daryl Morey.

The Sixers still have Embiid and a rapidly ascending star in Tyrese Maxey plus Tobias Harris, who can play like a star from time to time. However, the Sixers can still get better and they must feel the need to satisfy Embiid. Philadelphia can't afford to deal with another disgruntled superstar.

Embiid is under Sixers control at least until the end of the 2025-26 NBA season. He has a player option for the 2026-27 campaign.

Among the notable players who can be unrestricted free agents in 2024 are Pascal Siakam of the Toronto Raptors, Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors, Buddy Hield of the Indiana Pacers, and DeMar DeRozan of the Chicago Bulls.