Philadelphia 76ers

The 2022-23 NBA season will reportedly kick off with a showdown between two title contenders in the Eastern Conference.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, Jayson Tatum's Boston Celtics and Joel Embiid's Philadelphia 76ers will be part of an opening night doubleheader on TNT on Oct. 18.

The second game will be a previously reported clash between the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors.

This is another piece of the puzzle as the 2022-23 schedule begins to come into view.

NBA insider Marc Stein reported the full schedule will be released Wednesday, and Charaniaoe previously provided a look at an intriguing slate of games that will take center stage on Christmas Day:

That the Celtics and 76ers will be nationally featured on opening night and Christmas Day was no surprise.

Boston was in the NBA Finals last season and features one of the best one-two punches in the league in Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Philadelphia hasn't made it past the second round of the playoffs since the 2000-01 campaign, but it has its own talented pair in Embiid and James Harden who could change that this season.

Throw in the rivalry between these Atlantic Division teams that always serves as the backdrop when they square off, and there is plenty to look forward to with the reported first clash.

Boston and Philadelphia fittingly split their four matchups last season, and whichever team comes out on top in the 2022-23 campaign could have the inside track for a higher seed and home-court advantage in what figures to be a tightly contested Eastern Conference race.

Fans won't have to wait long for the next chapter of the rivalry.

The Philadelphia 76ers and Ben Simmons reached a settlement in his grievance regarding the salary the team withheld amid his absence during the 2021-22 NBA season, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

NBC Sports Philadelphia's John Clark added the terms of the deal are confidential, so it's unclear how much money Simmons will collect. He reportedly sought to regain almost $20 million of his $33 million salary from last year.

The Sixers contended the three-time All-Star was in breach of his contract when he failed to arrive in time for the start of training camp and didn't play in the preseason or regular season.

Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer provided more context last October: "Philadelphia views Simmons' refusal to report to training camp as not fulfilling the terms of his contract. In dialogue with league-office personnel and players union officials, the Sixers appear to be within their rights to withhold that lucrative check."

Simmons' agent, Rich Paul, said an interview with The Athletic's Shams Charania last November the fines and overall scrutiny "has furthered the mental health issues for Ben." Paul added his client was in a place mentally to where he could return to the court:

This is no longer about a trade. This is about finding a place where we can help Ben get back to his mental strength and get back on the floor. I want him on the floor playing the game that he loves. I want Ben on the floor whether that’s in a 76ers uniform or any other uniform, that’s not up to me, but I want him in a state where he can resume play. We want to cooperate and want to work him back on the floor.

By February, ESPN's Ramona Shelburne reported Simmons forfeited more than $19 million in fines and hadn't received a paycheck since collecting the $8.3 million owed to him on Oct. 1, 2021.

"Every two weeks the team sends a notice with an explanation of all the fines he has accumulated for failing to render services, instead of a $1.375 million paycheck," Shelburne wrote.

The Sixers finally traded Simmons to the Brooklyn Nets on Feb. 10. The 26-year-old has yet to make his debut for the Nets due to a lingering back problem. He underwent back surgery in May with the hope he'll be ready for the start of training camp this fall.

The Philadelphia 76ers and the New York Knicks are in line to play at Madison Square Garden as part of the NBA's Christmas Day slate of games, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.

That report comes after 76ers guard James Harden provided a hint Sunday about the possible matchup.

Stein previously reported that the first draft of the Christmas Day schedule has the Los Angeles Lakers playing at the Dallas Mavericks, the Memphis Grizzlies visiting the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors and the Phoenix Suns taking on back-to-back NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets.

Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe also reported that a Christmas Day matchup between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics is "likely."

Keith Smith of Spotrac cobbled it all together:

And Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic confirmed it all:

The 2022-23 regular season is set to open Oct. 18. The Lakers will be visiting the Warriors that night, when Golden State will have its ring ceremony, per Charania.

This year's Christmas Day slate follows patterns from previous years. It's typically a five-game slate that features a New York Knicks home game, a LeBron James-led team and the defending NBA champions.

The 2022 slate also won't feature a shortage of stars, as per usual, with Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, Mavs point guard Luka Doncic and Suns point guard Chris Paul among them.

Despite the way their time as teammates with the Brooklyn Nets ended, Kevin Durant and Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden are reportedly back on good terms.

During an appearance on NBA Today, ESPN's Ramona Shelburne suggested there are no hard feelings between KD and Harden even though Harden essentially forced his way out of Brooklyn last season:

Shelburne noted that Durant and Harden were recently backstage together at a Travis Scott concert in London, signaling that any potential issues have been patched up.

News of Durant and Harden being on the same page comes after SNY's Ian Begley reported this week that there are "high-ranking members" of the 76ers organization who have "felt strongly" about talking to the Nets about a trade involving Durant.

Begley added that Durant views Philly as a "welcome landing spot," meaning there could be some legs to the rumors.

In June, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski (h/t ESPN's Tim Bontemps) reported that Durant's business manager, Rich Kleiman, said KD had requested a trade out of Brooklyn and the Nets agreed to work with him on finding a trade.

At the time, Wojnarowski noted that the Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat were Durant's two preferred trade destinations.

For whatever reason, nothing has worked out on those fronts yet, and there hasn't been any movement regarding Durant's trade market.

The Suns matching the Indiana Pacers' offer sheet for center Deandre Ayton may have thrown a wrench into their plans to trade for Durant since Ayton may have been a centerpiece of that deal and now can't be traded until during the season.

Meanwhile, the Heat are perhaps hesitant to mess with their depth or to trade away key players like Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and others.

The Sixers would almost certainly have to part with a rising star at guard in Tyrese Maxey to land Durant, but it could be worth it in order to have a superstar triumvirate of Durant, Harden and Joel Embiid.

Brooklyn's attempt at a big three of Durant, Harden and Kyrie Irving didn't work out like it hoped, as the Nets were knocked out in the second round of the playoffs in 2021, traded Harden to the 76ers during the 2021-22 season and then got swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Boston Celtics.

Trading for Durant would likely be worth the risk for the Sixers, though, as they have been unable to get past the second round of the playoffs despite reaching the postseason in each of the past five campaigns.

Durant is an all-time great who is a two-time NBA champion and two-time NBA Finals MVP, and he is coming off a season in which he averaged 29.9 points per game at the age of 33.

Adding him to the reigning MVP runner-up in Embiid and a perennial All-Star and one-time NBA MVP in Harden would perhaps make the 76ers the scariest team in the Eastern Conference and a force to be reckoned with come playoff time if they could stay healthy.