While the Philadelphia 76ers have taken All-Star guard James Harden off the trade block, the former NBA MVP could reportedly be poised to cause issues for Philadelphia that could potentially accelerate his path out of town.
Harden, entering his age-34 season, has a history of finding ways to create leverage for a trade. With the Houston Rockets in 2021, Harden showed up late to training camp and was visibly out of shape. He went on to skip practices, get into confrontations with teammates and didn’t seem to play his best basketball for Houston.
Ultimately, the Rockets caved to Harden’s trade demand and dealt h to the Brooklyn Nets. One year later, the All-Star guard sat out games with a hamstring injury until Brooklyn granted his request and traded him to the 76ers for Ben Simmons and draft picks.
- James Harden stats (2022-’23): 21 PPG, 10.7 APG, 1.2 SPG, 3.4 TPG, 44.1% FG, .188 WS/48
Now, after playing just 79 combined games with the 76ers, Harden has requested a trade to the Los Angeles Clippers. Philadelphia discussed the parameters of a deal with Los Angeles and other interested teams, but could never come to terms on a price.
As a result, the 76ers decided on Saturday to end all trade talks involving Harden. Instead, Philadelphia is requesting that he shows up for training camp with the hopes of his teammates convincing him to play out the final year of his contract.
However, that approach might not work out well for Philadelphia. Sam Amick of The Athletic reported on Saturday that Harden “no longer wants to play for Philadelphia” and he won’t participate in training camp. Furthermore, Harden’s camp isn’t shutting down the idea of creating a ‘messy spectacle’ or sitting out games.
“Does that mean he won’t report if a deal doesn’t go down by that point, or that he’ll make a messy spectacle of his training camp arrival like he did when he was trying to get out of Houston back in December of 2020? That part remains unclear, with Harden’s side still expressing a belief that there will be meaningful developments on the trade talk front before that time comes. The source spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.”
Sam Amick on Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden
Why James Harden wants to be traded out of Philadelphia
When the NBA offseason began, Harden’s suitors were believed to be the 76ers and Houston Rockets. However, the Rockets were reportedly the only team comfortable with offering him a long-term max contract. After initial interest from Houston, though, it backed off and Harden exercised his player option then demanded to be traded.
ESPN’s Adran Wojnarowski reported on Friday that Harden’s issue with the 76ers is directly caused by team president Daryl Morey. The All-Star guard returned to Philadelphia last season on a below-market contract, with the impression from Morey he would be rewarded the following offseason with a long-term max contract. One year later, Morey reportedly isn’t willing to offer that.
“Harden is unhappy with Sixers president Daryl Morey over the lack of a long-term maximum-level contract offer, sources said, and the team is risking Harden’s arrival at training camp bringing anything but a championship mindset.”
Adrian Wojnarowski on James Harden’s issues with Philadelphia 76ers
- James Harden contract: $35.6 million salary (2023-’24), 2024 NBA free agent
Related: New York Knicks’ stance could prevent James Harden trade
Morey is hoping that Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey can help convince Harden to stay. However, reports throughout the offseason have strongly implied that Harden’s issues are directly tied to the front office. With Philadelphia no longer willing to offer a max contract, Harden seemingly sees no reason to remain loyal to the 76ers and Morey.
By taking Harden off the trade block, the 76ers have avoided any unwanted headlines for a few weeks. However, that will change once NBA training camp begins in September and Harden either skips practices or shows up with the intent of forcing his way out of Philadelphia before the NBA season begins.