Vincent Frank
It was just last week that the Philadelphia 76ers opted against having James Harden join them on a road trip to open their season against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Harden had just returned from an excused absence after requesting a trade during the summer. There was no way that the former NBA MVP was going to be able to suit up against Milwaukee after missing practice for roughly the past two weeks.
Despite this, the NBA was threatening to penalize Philadelphia under the guise of its new load management policy.
Now, one day after Harden was dealt to the Los Angeles Clippers in the latest NBA blockbuster, the NBA has made a decision.
According to Chris Haynes of Turner Sports, the Association has decided that it will not penalize Philadelphia for holding Harden out of the opener against Milwaukee.
It would have been pretty ridiculous for the NBA to penalize Philadelphia given the situation Harden put the team in prior to his trade to Los Angeles.
The enigmatic guard not only requested a trade, but also called 76ers front office head Daryl Morey a liar while indicating that he’d never play for the organization again. Harden was actually fined $100,000 for those comments.
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Philadelphia can now put the entire Harden drama behind them. The team acquired Marcus Morris, Nicolas Batum and Robert Covington as well as multiple first-round picks from Los Angeles for the star guard.
This gives Morey the flexibility to add another star player in a blockbuster trade ahead of the February NBA trade deadline to team up with Tyrese Maxey and reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid.
