Getty Patrick Beverley, James Harden
The Philadelphia 76ers introduced new addition Patrick Beverley on July 10. Beverley, who played with James Harden on the Houston Rockets, indicated that he wants to play with Harden again on the Sixers.
“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 to Harden directly to stay with the Sixers after he opted in.
“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.”
Beverley also said that Harden was one of the reasons why he signed with the Sixers.
“One of my decisions just coming here is because James Harden is here,” Beverley said. “So I hope he stays. I hope that everybody can kind of work something out and put that behind us and kind of move forward. I think it’s important.”
Joel Embiid’s Thoughts on James Harden’s Request
During an interview with Rachel Nichols, Embiid gave his first thoughts on Harden’s trade request.
While Embiid expressed his disappointment towards the situation, he didn’t take Harden’s trade request personally.
“I understand. It’s business. People make decisions, and I’m more appreciative of the way he’s handled the whole situation. We’re going to be boys forever.”
Embiid too expressed his desire to have Harden on the team, but added that the two will remain friends no matter what happens.
“(I) want him to come back, obviously, so we can go out and accomplish what we want, which is to win a championship, so hopefully that his mindset can be changed. But, other than that, I’m just so happy to be his friend. We’re close, and we’ve grown since he got here. I’m excited to keep that for the rest of our lives.”
Spoke to Joel Embiid about James Harden’s trade request – Embiid said he’s hopeful Harden’s “mindset can be changed.” The two were partying with @MichaelRubin last night at the @Fanatics/@TheNBPA Summer League blowout.
Doc Rivers Sold Patrick Beverley on Sixers
After signing with the Sixers, Beverley explained on his own podcast how former Sixers coach Doc Rivers impacted his decision to join the team. Beverley started by saying how much he values Rivers’ input.
“Before I like to make any, like, life decision, I hit Doc. Obviously, you know, Doc is a mentor, Doc is damn near a father figure, Doc is—feel me? Doc is everything. I need something. I need answers. I need help. I hit Doc.”
Beverley then revealed what Rivers told him that convinced him to join the Sixers.
“I hit Doc. ‘I might go to Philly. Obviously, you was there. How’d you like the situation?’ Now this is a Hall of Fame coach that just got fired, and his response, exact words, ‘I love Philadelphia for you. They need you. You will be great with Joel (Embiid). James (Harden), he respects you. You will be great with him. If I had you last season, we would have been a different team.’”
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Patrick Beverley Pleads James Harden to Return to Sixers