James Harden was away from the 76ers for the last 10 days and returned Tuesday ready to take part in Philadelphia’s road trip to open the 2023-24 NBA season.
But the Sixers asked him to remain behind for the first two games.
According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Harden had his bags packed for the two-game road trip upon his return to the practice facility Wednesday. But the team told him to not travel for the games against the Milwaukee Bucks and the Toronto Raptors.
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Harden hasn’t practiced since Oct. 15 after he was a no-show amid the ongoing feud with president of basketball operations Daryl Morey that began this summer. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, though, Philly’s plan is to ramp Harden up at its practice facility and “work with team development staff to get the live action necessary to get him playing games once Sixers return from Milwaukee-Toronto trip.”
Harden skipped media day but returned on Day 2 of training camp. He left the facility before he could speak to reporters.
The 10-time All-Star publicly called Morey a “liar” and vowed to never play for a team he was part of. After requesting a trade from the 76ers, the reported plan was for them to trade Harden once he opted into his $35.6 million option. He did, and no trade came about. Harden said his relationship with Morey was beyond repair but was still ready to work as long as he was a member of the team.
Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka put a stop to a potential reunion with Harden, and there hasn’t been a trade package from other teams that have wowed Morey. There have been discussions between Philadelphia and the Los Angeles Clippers — Harden’s preferred destination — but there remains a “sizable gap” between the two sides to get a deal done.
The Sixers exec made it clear that he wasn’t going to trade Harden just to trade him. And Morey has shown he’s not afraid to hold on to players until the right deal comes along — just look at how long it took them to trade Ben Simmons.
The 76ers host the Trail Blazers at Wells Fargo Center on Oct. 29. It’s unclear if Harden will be good to go by then.
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