James Harden has disappeared on the 76ers
James Harden has disappeared on the Philadelphia 76ers.
The 34-year-old guard was not at practice with the team on Wednesday and hasn’t been with the Sixers since Sunday, according to a report from The Athletic. He skipped Monday’s shootaround and preseason game with the Brooklyn Nets.
The report says it’s “unclear when, and if, Harden will return to the 76ers.”
“I didn’t know if anything was going on because he’s been here,” Sixers star Joel Embiid told reporters. “He wasn’t here today, so obviously I think he probably had something important to do or something came up. But guys know what it is.”
Harden is in Houston, site of his former team the Rockets, according to Yahoo. His restaurant, family and home are all in Houston.
Harden said last week his relationship with Sixers president Daryl Morey was beyond repair, comparing it to a bad marriage.
Harden, who has yet to play this preseason, said then he planned to compete in the preseason finale against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday and then once the regular-season begins Oct. 26 at the Milwaukee Bucks.
“I take it one game a at a time,” he said. “My plan is to play basketball, yes for sure.”
He added: “I’m here putting work in. that’s all I can do. I work my butt off. “You can say whatever you wanna say about me, but you don’t get this far in this league without putting work in. That’s what I hang my hat on. So whenever things fail or things don’t go how you feel they should go, you just continue to work, and that’s it.”
Harden is attempting to force his way off his third team in three years, having already forced his way off the Rockets and the Nets.
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Harden remains hopeful of being traded to the Clippers, but one league source told NJ Advance Media the Clippers “won’t add [Terance Mann] to the deal.”
A second league source said he hopes the Clippers don’t ultimately land Harden.
“I hope not,” the source said. “The Clippers are dangerous enough without him.”
After averaging 21 points and 10.7 assists last season, Harden opted into his $35.6 million player option for 2023-24, and then requested a trade.
Over the summer, Harden callel Morey a “liar” during an Adidas event in China for not accommodating his trade request to his hometown L.A. Clippers.
“Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of,” he said. “Let me say that again: Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of.”
In August, the NBA fined Harden $100,000 for “comments...indicating that he would not perform the services called for under his player contract unless traded to another team.”
