The ongoing feud between James Harden and the Philadelphia 76ers is a complete mess. For starters, the former MVP chose to make things ugly after the organization failed to fulfill a promise. Had he not gone that route, there would have been something to work out during training camp. Unfortunately, it’s been quite the opposite and Harden seems to be digging a deeper pit.
He failed to show up at the Sixers media day session and he did not fly into the city either. It was revealed through an NBA insider that he plans to make things harder for the Sixers moving into training camp, which he had initially refused to attend. Regardless, he showed up at training camp but did not regroup with Joel Embiid and the rest of the team before arriving at the facility.
James Harden at 76ers Training Camp today in Colorado (via @sixers) pic.twitter.com/Z5o3AqIGMc
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) October 4, 2023
Now, Philly is struggling to achieve common ground with the Los Angeles Clippers, James Harden’s desired trade destination. The Clippers happen to be the only team with usable assets to swap for Harden. But none of their offers have impressed Daryl Morey and his team, as they want to make a trade that makes sense for the team. Morey either wants a player that can assume a big role to help the Sixers, or assets which will help them acquire such a player.
James Harden ruined his only chance of getting out of Philadelphia
Before reaching toxic levels, James Harden had two teams on his list of trade destinations. Besides the Clippers, the Houston Rockets were a contender to land the 10x All-Star. Houston is where Harden transitioned into an MVP player and won several accolades such as the scoring title. But Stephen A. Smith recently revealed that Harden botched the trade himself.
Smith said, “I got tipped off last week by a very reliable source, about something that happened in Houston. The Houston Rockets were talking to James Harden thinking about bringing him back after Ime Udoka was brought in… he actually talked himself out of a max deal.”
Stephen A. Smith reports that Houston had initially been willing to offer James Harden a max contract this offseason.
However, after Harden expressed to Ime Udoka his ambition to win a scoring title, the max contract offer was rescinded 😬
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) October 4, 2023
“Because he went in there talking about how he wanted to return to being that scoring champion. And Ime Udoka went like, ‘Nah, we ain’t trying to have that here. We are building something a little different.’ Had he come in there and said the right things, they would’ve given him a max four-year deal,” he concluded.
James Harden once stated that he was torn between the Clippers and the Rockets. However, it makes complete sense why the Rockets haven’t been included in Hardn trade talks. LA will be the Sixers’ final hope or else Harden’s career will remain in jeopardy.