Only a year and a half after forcing his way out of the Brooklyn Nets, James Harden decided to submit another trade request. This time, to get out of the Philadelphia 76ers. The Beard opted into a player option in the offseason, but his intention was to sign a supermax extension. Things got ugly when the front office didn’t meet that expectation.
Harden has therefore made his priority to find a new team, but the Sixers have yet to move him. The Los Angeles Clippers have been linked with the veteran guard for months, as they’re reportedly his preferred landing spot.
Philadelphia’s demands kept LA at bay, and it doesn’t look like that will change anytime soon. According to NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Clippers have decided not to trade for Harden in the near future.
“I’m told that is when the start of the season now, at least for the foreseeable future, the Clippers are stepping back from these trade talks about James Harden. They’re essentially pausing them,“ Woj said, via SixersWire. “They have talked with Philadelphia for months about a trade. They’ve made their best offer for Harden and they are now going to start their season and see what this team looks like with a healthy Kawhi Leonard, a healthy Paul George.“
Woj added that the Los Angeles-based franchised may re-engage in trade talks for the 34-year-old, but they’re not losing sleep over it. After all, the Clippers know there are not other suitors out there. That gives them leverage, especially if the season goes on and Harden is still stuck in the City of Brotherly Love.
James Harden
James Harden is not participating in 76ers opening night
Following a 10-day absence from the team to take care of a personal matter, Harden returned to practice on Wednesday. However, Nick Nurse said he won’t take part in the Sixers’ opening game of the season agains the Bucks on Thursday night.
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According to Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report, Harden wanted to travel with the team anyway, but a security official denied him entry onto their plane. The 76ers will play their first two games of the 2023-24 season on the road. After their trip to Milwaukee, the team will travel to Toronto to play the Raptors on Saturday.
Harden may have no option but to stay
The Harden saga seems to bring all kinds of news every day except that he finally got traded, which makes one wonder where this situation will ultimately lead. The former MVP still belongs to the 76ers and has reported to training camp this summer.
The truth is that his market has been slim this offseason. The Miami Heat never seemed really interested in striking a deal, whereas the Houston Rockets were in the mix for a while before being ruled out. Other teams have been mentioned as hypothetical destinations, but no one made any serious progress.
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If the Clippers finally give up on getting him in the foreseeable, Harden may have no option but to play for the Sixers again. His relationship with the front office might be beyond repair, but that doesn’t matter much. At the end of the day, Harden is still under contract in Philadelphia.
