The confusing situation between James Harden and the Philadelphia 76ers added a new layer on Wednesday when the future Hall-of-Famer ended his apparent hold-out and randomly showed up to travel with the team for their season opener.
An ugly schism between James Harden and the Sixers’ front office led to an awkward situation over the last month as the star guard appeared for one of the team’s practices early in training camp but then disappeared for the remainder of their preparation for the new season.
Heading into their 2023-2024 season opener on Thursday, it was unclear if the 10-time All-Star would rejoin the roster. However, the situation took another unexpected turn when ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski reported that “James Harden has returned to Philadelphia’s facility as the Sixers prepare for practice prior to today’s flight to Milwaukee for opening night.”
James Harden stats (’22-’23): 21 PPG, 10.7 APG, 1.2 SPG, 44.1% FG
In a follow-up post on X, formerly Twitter, Wojnarowski confirmed that Harden was indeed in uniform and working out with his teammates on Wednesday. After the news, The Athletic’s NBA insider Shams Charania revealed that the 34-year-old came with his bags packed and ready to travel with the team. However, “the 76ers have now asked him not to travel with the team, sources said.”
Harden has been away from the team for nearly two weeks and missed all of their preseason games. While Harden will not be with the team for their two-game road trip to start the season, Wojnarowski reports that “the plan is allowing him to stay at Camden practice facility and work with team development staff to get the live-action necessary to get him playing games once Sixers return from Milwaukee-Toronto trip.”
Related: James Harden expected to make things painful for Philadelphia 76ers moving forward
All indications are that James Harden still wants out of Philadelphia, however, he may likely be looking to avoid a suspension and fine from the organization or NBA by sitting out games in the regular season. Things should certainly be interesting over the next few weeks as Harden gets assimilated into the strategies of new head coach Nick Nurse.