Although Harden asked for a trade to leave Philadelphia, the Sixers are being patient.
When it comes to James Harden’s imminent trade request, the Philadelphia 76ers are being patient and don’t feel any pressure to deal with the star guard right away. Therefore, there is a chance that the impasse between the two parties may continue through training camp in the autumn. According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, Harden is anticipated to report to training camp if it goes that far. Harden has a history of utilising his behaviour to further his agenda, and he still has interest in joining the Los Angeles Clippers, so that wouldn’t necessarily be a good thing for Philadelphia.
From Fischer:
Future Hall of Famer Harden has won an MVP and is ranked among the Top 75 players of all time. He is also skilled at acting in a way that can persuade a team to give in and finally let the talented guard go, having practised it during the closing months of Harden’s time in Houston and Brooklyn. According to league sources, Harden is anticipated to report to training camp at this point if this saga continues through September and until Media Day on Oct. 2. By showing there rather of remaining home, you can give the company you’re attempting to quit even more trouble. Including the Rockets and the Nets Harden frequently travelled away from the team for different evening pursuits. In order to avoid losing him for nothing, Brooklyn felt forced to trade him to the Sixers before the 2022 trade deadline. When it comes to Philadelphia, Harden’s camp is firmly of the opinion that he will join the Clippers at some point, not if.
The Sixers continue to hold out hope that Harden would reconsider and decide to complete the final year of his contract in Philadelphia, and they have made it clear that they won’t trade the former MVP unless a transaction is advantageous to the team right now. Such a transaction hasn’t happened yet, but it might do so before camp even gets underway.
When it comes to starting a season with a great guard who is unhappy, Philadelphia definitely has recent experience because a similar scenario occurred two years ago when Ben Simmons requested a trade out of Philly and ultimately sat out until his wish was fulfilled. In exchange for Harden, he was later traded to the Brooklyn Nets. It’s a very complete circle.
Harden presently has no guaranteed money to his name beyond the ’23–’24 season, in contrast to Simmons, who had previously signed a guaranteed max contract before to his holdout. Because he will be looking for a new contract in the summer, it is in Harden’s best interest to play — and play well — next season. His future earning potential may be seriously harmed if he chose to skip games or perform poorly out of spite.
The Sixers do, however, have some motivation to finalise a deal before training camp. By doing this, the possibility of Harden spoiling the locker room would be avoided. The Sixers don’t need Harden to be a distraction because he has shown that he can be that when he isn’t thrilled with his surroundings. Recent history suggests that Joel Embiid, the current NBA MVP, is unlikely to be keen to cope with the Simmons distraction again. He had to deal with it for half of a season.
It is in the Sixers’ best interest to satisfy Embiid because he is essentially the only thing keeping them in the Eastern Conference playoff picture right now. The reverse outcome can occur if a further distracting issue continues on and negatively affects his supporting cast.
