James Harden opted into his contract with the Philadelphia 76ers on June 29. However, he did this with the hopes of being traded, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania. Yet, as of July 11, Harden remains a Sixer, and it appears that Harden may continue to be one.
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin revealed on “The Dan Patrick Show” on July 11 that he expects Harden will remain with the Sixers despite his trade request.
“I was speaking to a bunch of folks about this Sunday evening. The signals right now is that he will be back with the Philadelphia 76ers,” McMenamin said. “As of right now, with no momentum appearing on a deal with the Los Angeles Clippers, and Philadelphia still needing what [Harden] does without finding a replacement for him, it looks like there’s a pathway for him to come back to the Sixers next year.”
Outside of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, who they certainly wouldn’t dangle in a trade with the Sixers, the Clippers don’t have any appealing assets for the Sixers outside of expiring contracts like Marcus Morris, Nicolas Batum, and Robert Covington to help them maintain cap flexibility.
Knowing the Sixers’ title aspirations, that’s not a good return for the player that Harden is.
James Harden Has Reiterated Trade Request: Insider
On the July 11 episode of ESPN’s NBA Today, Insider Ramona Shelburne said that Harden has met up with President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey, where he told him that he still wants out.
“They’ve spoken again, and he still reiterated that he wants to be traded. Now this is not a demand. It’s a request. And I think that the Sixers have said, ‘OK, we will try to trade you,’ but there is no hurry to do this,” Shelburne said.
Shelburne explained why the Sixers are in no rush to trade Harden.
“I think the Sixers understand here that they have the leverage here. I mean James has picked up his option, this is an opt-in to his contract, and he’s going to be a free agent after this season. So at some point, he needs to play, whether that is in Philadelphia or elsewhere.”
Shelburne added that the Sixers are hoping Harden’s rapport with his Sixers teammates could potentially change his mind.
“Plus, there is a sense that if they can give it some time and he’s cool with his teammates—he’s been talking to Joel Embiid, he’s been talking to Patrick Beverley, P.J. Tucker—that eventually, maybe these fences can be mended and there is a path to reconciliation with James Harden. But for now, he has reiterated his trade request.”
Patrick Beverley Wants to Play With James Harden
During his introductory press conference, new Sixer Patrick Beverley explained why he wants to play with Harden again.
“Obviously, players are here to play,” Beverley said. “That decision is definitely above my pay grade, but you can’t re-do a James Harden. So, hell yeah, you want him here. Hell, yeah, you want him in the locker room. Hell yeah, you want him the first day of practice.”
Beverley then pleaded indirectly to Harden to stick with the Sixers.
“James, I love you, bro. Stay!” Beverley added. “But yeah, James is a really good friend of mine. A really, really, really good friend of mine. Our mom’s best friends. Me coming into the NBA with Houston, it was me and him. Six years, my star buddy. So I’m very familiar with James, and I’m excited. I’m excited to kind of get it going. He knows I’m here. So we’ll see.”
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Insider Reveals Likelihood of Sixers Trading James Harden