The tensions that have been building up between the Philadelphia 76ers and star player James Harden have taken a new and unexpected turn.
According to the team president, Daryl Morey, Harden was absent from Philadelphia’s media day on Monday morning. The event was held at the Wells Fargo Center. The guard has spent a significant portion of the offseason urging the team to move him to a different position, and his unwillingness to participate in the 76ers’ media day events is the most recent manifestation of that effort.
On Monday, Morey stated that “he is not here today.” “He continues to seek a trade, and we’re working with his representation to resolve that in a way that is best for the 76ers and hopefully all parties.”
The Sixers team president went on to state that he anticipates James Harden to be there for the forthcoming training camp for the team, which is scheduled to take place at the Moby Arena on the campus of Colorado State University in Fort Collins from Tuesday through Friday. At this point, it is not certain whether or not Harden will be present.
James Harden trade news
After exercising the $35.6 million contract option that was available to him in June, Harden has spent a significant portion of the offseason requesting that the 76ers sell him.
The guard had first exercised the option in anticipation that his club would honor his request to change positions with another player. After having multiple meetings with the Clippers, the Philadelphia 76ers stated in the middle of August that their attempts to trade James Harden to the Los Angeles Clippers, which was reportedly his preferred destination, had come to a halt.
During a media event for Adidas in China, the disgruntled guard lashed out at Morey only a few days after Philadelphia released its report on its efforts to improve its trade relations.
Harden declared, “Daryl Morey is a liar, and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of,” and vowed never to join a team that Morey was affiliated with. “Allow me to reiterate what I’ve already said: Daryl Morey is a liar, and I will never join an organization that he’s affiliated with,” the man said.
Because of his outburst, he was given a fine of $10,000.
Harden is plainly unhappy with his current role as the Robin to Joel Embiid’s Batman in Philadelphia, despite the fact that he now leads the NBA in assists and is the 2023 NBA MVP candidate.
The current escalation made by the former Most Valuable Player is not the first time he has put pressure on a franchise to compel a trade. Harden arrived late to training camp while he was playing for the Houston Rockets, and he made a trade request in November after Daryl Morey, who was the Rockets’ general manager at the time, and Mike D’Antoni, who was the team’s head coach, departed the team.
In January of that season, the Rockets made a deal with the Nets to trade for the talented guard. Thirteen months later, he was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers, where Morey, who is now the team president, was the general manager of those 76ers. ESPN stated at the time of the trade that the reason Harden did not make an official trade request was because the team was afraid of receiving additional negative feedback from the public.
James Harden contract
After being traded to the 76ers by the Brooklyn Nets during the 2021-22 season, Harden decided not to exercise the $47.4 million option for the 2022-23 season that was on the table for him in June, following the conclusion of the season.
After waiting another month, he finally agreed to terms with Philadelphia, signing a deal that would pay him $68.64 million over the course of two years and contain a player option for the 2023-2024 season. Harden decided to exercise that option at the conclusion of the 2022–2023 season in the expectation that the 76ers would locate a trade partner willing to take him to another team.
James Harden stats
Harden finished his age-33 season with a league-leading 21-point scoring average, 6.1 rebound average, and 10.7 assist average per game, which topped the NBA. He had a field goal percentage of .441 and a three-point field goal percentage of .385, which was the second-best mark from three in his career.
The 76ers guard is a 10-time All-Star and won the Most Valuable Player award in 2018. In addition, he won the scoring title in the NBA for three consecutive years (2018-2020). Since 2011-12, which was Harden’s third season in the NBA, he was not selected to an All-Star team for the first time during the 2022-2023 NBA season.