The Philadelphia 76ers are set to kick off their 2023-24 NBA campaign Thursday vs. the Milwaukee Bucks. However they could be doing so without the services of James Harden, who remains absent from team activities.
Harden, who has been angling for a trade for much of the offseason, missed the team’s final preseason game on Friday and has already skipped multiple team practices. While the club announced that the 34 year old was away from the team dealing with a “personal matter”, it’s clear to all involved that Harden is playing hardball in his ongoing standoff with President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey.
Over the summer, Harden went on the offensive, calling Morey a “liar” and insinuating that the executive had misled him with regards to his contract situation. The 10x All-Star has told reporters multiple times since that the relationship is beyond repair adding “I will never be part of an organization that he’s a part of.”
“This is not even about this situation, this is in life. When you lose trust in someone, it’s like a marriage … you lose trust in someone, you know what I mean? It’s pretty simple.”
While multiple teams have inquired about Harden’s availability since the star guard went public with his trade demands, none have been willing to pay the asking price from the Philadelphia front office to date.
The former league MVP has been linked to the Los Angeles Clippers for some time now, although no deal appears imminent with the start of the NBA season just around the corner.
While Harden’s days as a premier scorer in the NBA may be behind him, he nevertheless posted a 21pts/6.1reb/10.7ast stat line last season, and remains an intriguing piece for a team with championship aspirations.
Originally selected 3rd overall in the 2009 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles native could see a scenario similar to that of former Sixers guard Ben Simmons play out. Should Harden elect to sit out the beginning of the 2023-24 season, it’s entirely possible that he’s eventually moved prior to the trade deadline to a team dealing with injuries, or needing an offensive spark down the stretch.
Regardless of the outcome, it’s now highly unlikely that Sixers fans can expect to see Harden suit up when the team travels to Milwaukee on October 26th.
Photo: FanDuel. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.