Sports
NBA Rumors: James Harden Trade Talks Ended by 76ers After 'No … – Bleacher Report
So much for one of the summer’s potential blockbusters.
The Philadelphia 76ers reportedly won’t trade James Harden ahead of the 2023-24 season despite rumors that he asked for a change in scenery, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The NBA insider reported Saturday that the 76ers “have ended trade talks” on Harden and intend to bring him in for the start of training camp ahead of the 2023-24 season.
“The Sixers had periodic offseason conversations with the [Los Angeles] Clippers—Harden’s desired destination—but no traction on a deal materialized,” Wojnarowski wrote.
The surprising decision comes after Harden opted into his $35.6 million player option for the 2023-24 season to help facilitate a trade.
Harden, 33, appeared in 58 games for the Sixers last season, averaging 21.0 points, a league-leading 10.7 assists and 6.1 rebounds per game while shooting 44.1 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from three.
His partnership with Joel Embiid, at least offensively, was dynamic and helped lead Embiid to his first MVP award. With the pair on the court together, the Sixers scored 120.7 points per 100 possessions and had a net rating of 9.0 during the regular season, per NBA.com.
The issue was that Philadelphia’s familiar habit of bowing out in the second round of the playoffs—combined with Harden’s past struggles in the postseason—combined for another disappointment in 2022-23.
With the Sixers up 3-2 on the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals after Harden carried the team to wins in Game 1 (45 points, six assists) and Game 4 (42 points, nine assists, eight rebounds), the star point guard disappeared.
In Game 6 he managed just 13 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and five turnovers, shooting a horrid 4-of-16 from the field. Game 7 was even more horrid—nine points, seven assists, six rebounds, five turnovers and 3-of-11 shooting from the field.
It left the Sixers in a tough situation. Were they really going to pay the max for a player who would be 34 at the start of the 2023-24 season, was likely to decline during such a deal and was fresh off a disappointing conclusion to the season?
The answer was ultimately “no.” As ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported in late June, “The Sixers could’ve offered Harden as much as a four-year, $213 million contract in free agency, but it was unlikely that they were going to make such a robust commitment to him.”
Harden couldn’t have been pleased to miss out on a max deal. But with the Sixers failing to get the return they wanted in a potential trade, the two sides will remain in an uneasy marriage for at least one more year.
It’s a touch of continuity for a Sixers team that has seen its core around Embiid include players such as Ben Simmons, Jimmy Butler, Al Horford and Harden in recent years. The turnover around Embiid, both in the team’s supporting cast and its coaches and front office, hasn’t been ideal.
Harden, meawnhile, will be given the chance to prove he’s worthy of a max contract in free agency next summer. And there’s always the chance that a deal could happen before the February trade deadline. But for now, The Beard remains in Philly.
