James Harden still wants the Philadelphia 76ers to trade him, but that does not mean he is going to remain away from the team until he gets his wish.
Harden was not present for media day with the 76ers on Monday. He also did not practice with the team on Tuesday at Colorado State University, which is where Philadelphia is holding training camp. However, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that Harden is expected to join the Sixers in the near future.
There has been a lot of talk about Harden skipping training camp and holding out in an attempt to force a trade. He would be subject to hefty fines if he went that route, so perhaps he does not want to give up the money.
Harden opted into his $35.6M player option for the 2023-24 season and immediately demanded a trade from Philly. He has since tried to put pressure on the franchise by publicly bashing executive Daryl Morey, but Morey is in no rush to trade Harden and is not going to let a rival team have the 10-time All-Star for free.
A report this week claimed Harden is unhappy with the 76ers that they have not traded him to a specific team.
Harden has plenty of experience forcing trades. He did just that when he went from the Houston Rockets to the Brooklyn Nets and then from Brooklyn to Philadelphia. It will be interesting to see if he causes any drama during training camp.
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