James Harden has been with the Philadelphia 76ers for only a year and a half, but it looks like heās made up his mind: The Beard submitted a trade request ahead of the 2023-24 NBA season.
At 33, Harden doesnāt seem to be interested in running things back with the Sixers and instead looks determined to join the Los Angeles Clippers, who also aim to contend next year.
But of course, Philly reportedly had no intention of parting with Harden this offseason. According to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, the 76ers are only accepting Hardenās desire because of his great relationship with Daryl Morey, but only if his suitors meet their demands.
Sixers let Hardenās suitors know their asking price
(Transcript via Sixers Wire)
āI think the Sixers have been pretty clear in that theyāre going to entertain conversations for James Harden because he has asked them to and Daryl Moreyās relationship with James Harden goes back so far and theyāve done a lot of things together in this league that he feels like he owes it to him to entertain trade conversations.
But heās also made it very clear weāre not going to trade James Harden for anything less than a player that they think puts them on the same percentage to win a championship and in Philly, they have this āWhat is your percentage to win a championship with the roster that you have?ā So thatās either a player comes back for James that helps them get there or a package that they can then use to get a player like that. And as you know, thatās hard to get. I donāt think theyāre in any hurry to do that when they have interest from the Clippers and a couple other teams, but nothing thatās blown them away.ā
Harden is still the kind of player that is hard to replace, which is why the Sixers wonāt let him go so easily. Maybe itās just a matter of time before the guard gets what he wants, but it wonāt come cheap for his suitors.
