James Harden is reportedly firm on his decision to leave the Philadelphia 76ers, despite the team’s move to close trade talks involving him.
“The 76ers have ended trade talks on guard James Harden and plan to bring him back to training camp for start of the season. The Sixers had periodic offseason conversations with the Clippers—Harden’s desired destination—but no traction on a deal materialized,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski posted on X on Sunday.
On the other hand, a report from Sam Amick of The Athletic revealed that Philadelphia’s decision to keep Harden will not change the mind of the former MVP, and he has no plans to participate in their training camp.
“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,” the report said.
“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,” it added.
Harden joined the 76ers in the middle of the 2021–2022 season, but he and Joel Embiid failed to carry the team past the second round of the playoffs.
The 33-year-old guard averaged 21.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 10.7 assists in 58 games last season. (MJD)
