Keeping James Harden in Philadelphia might not be a worst-case scenario, It doesn’t sound like he’d be against playing for the 76ers either, but the 33-year-old still wants a trade.
Harden has only been in the city of brotherly love for one and a half seasons. However, it appears that he could remain there for a little longer.
“I was speaking to a bunch of folks about [Harden] Sunday evening,” said Dave McMenamin on the Dan Patrick Show. “The signals right now is that he will be back with the Philadelphia 76ers.”
There was interest with multiple teams heading into the offseason. However, the Houston Rockets pivoted and elected to sign Dillon Brooks and Fred VanVleet. The 76ers are still gauging interest but it appears that the talks with the Los Angeles Clippers stalled.
“As of right now, with certainly no momentum appearing on a deal to the Los Angeles Clippers. And Philadelphia obviously still needing what he does without finding a replacement for him. It looks like there’s a pathway for him to come back to the Sixers next year.”
The organization spoke with James Harden again and he still desires for a trade to happen at some point. The Sixers will try to honor that request. Harden picked up his $35.6 million player option.
The Philly/Harden situation is similar to the Portland/Damian Lillard situation, neither team is in a rush to trade their disgruntled star. Joel Embiid and Patrick Beverley are hoping the three-time scoring champion will change his mind and stay.
“I want him to come back, obviously, so we can accomplish what we want, which is a championship,” Embiid told Showtime’s Rachel Nichols. “Hopefully his mindset can be changed. Other than that, I’m just so happy to be his friend. We close and we’ve grown since he got here and, you know, that’s what I’m excited about and I’m excited to keep that friendship for the rest of our lives.”
“Players are here to play. That decision is definitely above my pay grade. You can’t redo a James Harden, so h*ll yeah, you want him here. H*ll yeah, you want him in the locker room. H*ll yeah, you want him on the first day of practice,” Pat Bev said. “One of my decisions coming here was because James Harden was here. So, I hope he stays.”
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