James Harden reports to 76ers training. Will he play for the team this season?
With teams in the league having already reported for media day and training camp, the situation in Philadelphia seems to have concluded without resolution.
Though it may be clear that the former Rockets and Nets player is not happy where he is, it appears that for the moment he has no other choice but to grin and bear it. As for the team, it’s anybody’s guess at this point how it will fix the problem.
Context is key: The James Harden story so far
OK, let’s recap. Back in August of 2022, James Harden made the decision to take a $14 million pay cut. At the time Harden publicly expressed that his wish was to give the 76ers more wiggle room when it came to constructing a competitive roster. The Sixers of course had failed to deliver on their obvious promise, with the likes of star center Joel Embiid openly expressing his frustrations about falling short of a title. This is all to say, that things were not well in Philly. The 2022-23 campaign proved to be no different which brought us to this past June when Harden decided to exercise his $35.6 million option. At that point, reports indicated that the franchise was working to find trade options
As you probably know, a number of potential destinations were mentioned not the least of which was his former team, the Houston Rockets, and of course the Los Angeles Clippers. Yet, as time ticked away it became increasingly obvious that a deal was no closer, and that’s when the former MVP dropped a bomb. While on a tour of China this August, Harden declared in a now infamous video clip that 76ers president Daryl Morey is a liar and that he would no longer play for an organization that Morey was part of. As you can imagine, alarm bells began to ring, and even more so when it was reported last month that any potential deal with the Clippers had completely fallen through. This brings us to the present which is puzzling, to say the least.
So, James Harden is stuck in Philly?
For the moment, it looks that way. While he did miss the Sixers’ first team practice at Colorado State, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Harden was expected to join the team as early as Tuesday and he did. Should it prove to be the case that he remains in Philly, it would be a truly unexpected turnaround given everything that has happened between the 10-time All-Star and the franchise.
On the other hand, there are those who might argue that it’s what the 34-year-old deserves. This, after all, is not the first time that Harden has tried to force his way out of a team he doesn’t want to play for, as we saw with both the Rockets and the Nets. It is, however, the first time that his approach appears to not have worked. Of course, there is still the possibility that the franchise gives Harden what he wants, but any team that gets him - to be honest - wouldn’t be getting the James Harden of old. That’s not to say he isn’t one of the league’s best playmakers, but he’s not the scorer he once was. Watch this space.