Getty James Harden
James Harden still remains with the Philadelphia 76ers. Though he wants a trade to the Los Angeles Clippers, and the feeling appears to be mutual, there hasn’t been much urgency on the Clippers’ part to get him, according to Philly Voice’s Kyle Neubeck.
“Even the Clippers, Harden’s preferred destination, have been fairly unserious about what they’re willing to give up in order to acquire him,” Neubeck wrote. “The prevailing sentiment seems to be that Harden is still valued, but on the team’s terms, which is a shift from the franchise-defining clout Harden had at his peak.”
Neubeck added what the market looks like for Harden at the moment.
“There will still be a market for him regardless, but at the moment, it seems like there’s a disconnect between what the player wants it to be and what teams think it is.”
That would explain why a deal hasn’t been done despite Harden opting in with the hopes of being traded specifically there. Being on an expiring contract makes it hard for teams to want to give up anything of value for any player because said player could be a flight risk.
That goes for any NBA player, even someone as good as Harden still is, even if he’s not the MVP-caliber player he once was.
Tracy McGrady Doesn’t Understand James Harden’s Demands
NBA Hall-of-Famer Tracy McGrady openly questioned why Harden wants off of the Sixers.
“I don’t understand for the life of me what James Harden is doing,” McGrady said in an interview in GQ published July 25. “Why are you trying to get out?”
He added that Harden is leaving a good situation with the Sixers and pleaded for him to move past whatever issues he has with the organization.
“Maybe there’s some internal bulls*** that is going on that we don’t know about,” said McGrady, who became a Hall of Famer in 2018. “Because it doesn’t make any sense to me to leave the MVP and the Eastern Conference, where you have a shot to at least play for a championship. It’s got to be something deeper than what you know. Get over it, man.”
Harden’s trade request is hardly out of character, as he’s asked off both the Houston Rockets and Brooklyn Nets, too, in less than a three-year span.
James Harden Called Out By Austin Rivers
Austin Rivers called out Harden, among others, for starting the trend of players who refuse to play for teams who gave them expensive contracts.
“If you were a free agent, then you could choose where you were gonna go… This started with James [Harden] and Ben [Simmons] and all these guys doing this sh*t. It’s bad for the league.”
Austin Rivers on Damian Lillard’s trade demand
(via ringernba/TT)
“Regardless of how good of a player you are, man, the NBA is a privilege. And if you are a free agent, then you can choose where you’re gonna go. That’s the business, but when you’re not, you signed a deal, man. That’s part of the business, bro. If you get traded somewhere like, you gotta go play, man. You know what I mean? This started with like James and Ben (Simmons) and all these guys doing it.”
Rivers then explained why these requests are bad for the NBA.
“This s*** is bad for the league. This is why our CBA deal that we just signed, and I don’t want to get heavy into that. That thing is, don’t get me f***ing started on that deal that we got going because it’s top-heavy.”