James Harden reportedly doesn’t intend to participate in training camp for the 76ers, despite the team deciding not to trade him. According to a new report from The Athletic, Harden remains adamant about his time in Philadelphia coming to a close before the start of next season.
“No matter what signals the Sixers might send when it comes to trade talks, a source close to Harden reiterated that the 10-time All-Star and former MVP no longer wants to play for Philadelphia and has no plans of taking part in training camp,†Sam Amick of The Athletic writes.
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The report continues: “Does that mean he won’t report if a deal doesn’t go down by that point, or that he’ll make a messy spectacle of his training camp arrival like he did when he was trying to get out of Houston back in December of 2020? That part remains unclear, with Harden’s side still expressing a belief that there will be meaningful developments on the trade talk front before that time comes. The source spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.â€
The 76ers initially agreed to search for a trade partner for Harden when he signed his $35.6 million player option in June. Unfortunately for both sides, it seems they were able to find a suitable deal. If Harden does return, he’ll be back to playing alongside MVP-winning center Joel Embiid. Despite sweeping the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the 2023 NBA playoffs, they failed to make it passed the Boston Celtics in the second round. As a result, the team fired head coach Doc Rivers, who had been with the organization since 2020.
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