PHILADELPHIA (AP) — James Harden vowed he would never play for a team led by Daryl Morey, president of the 76ers.
And it must have been clear to Philadelphia that Harden plans to keep his word. The disgruntled point guard missed the team’s entire preseason program after demanding a trade.
Harden, who according to the official report is out for personal reasons, did not practice with the Sixers this week. The bearded star, a three-time NBA scoring champion, was not at the Wells Fargo Center on Friday night for the final preseason game against Atlanta.
Harden’s jersey, with the number 1, was still offered for sale in the arena stores, for $139.
The Sixers plan to open their season on Thursday against Milwaukee. They visit Toronto before playing their first home game, on October 29 against Portland. Coach Nick Nurse, in his first season after five years with Toronto, is preparing to play games without Harden.
“I think I’ve prepared for it this whole week, for sure,” Nurse said Friday. “There is a lot of thinking that he will not play, and the team has prepared this summer. I keep saying that the plan will be different if this changes. I don’t think this has affected us that much, at all. “We just went out to play and we will continue to do so, I think without him, until something changes.”
Harden and the 76ers are no strangers to conflictive situations. Harden’s time in Houston, where he first worked with Morey — then the general manager — included leading scorer titles and the 2018 Most Valuable Player award.
But his relationship with the Rockets soured in the end, and the player ended up forcing his trade to Brooklyn in 2021. He joined Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, to form a stellar trio that never lived up to expectations.
Players were affected by injuries and controversies, most notably Irving’s refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The three stars played together only 18 games before Harden, again, demanded his departure.
Thus he emigrated to Philadelphia just before the 2022 trade deadline expired. On the team, he was reunited with Morey and seemed comfortable with his role as point guard while the offense went through Joel Embiid. Harden even declined his $47.4 million option in June 2022.
He said then that he wanted to give the 76ers the flexibility to improve their payroll and compete for a title. He signed an agreement for just over $68 million, which netted him about $33 million the previous season and included a player option for the current campaign for $35 million.
Harden has said part of his discontent stems from the fact that he considered getting a long-term contract with the Sixers after last season. This never arrived, which led to the demand for a trade.
The player could have rejected the option to renew the contract and test the free agent market. However, he picked up the $35.6 million option with the 76ers for this season, hoping to force a trade.
He wanted to go to the Los Angeles Clippers, but those talks stalled.
2023-10-21 03:06:00
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