The Philadelphia 76ers have had one major question hanging over their entire offseason: What is going to happen to James Harden? Right before the start of free agency this year, Harden picked up his player option for 2023-24 and requested a trade, with reports indicating that the Los Angeles Clippers were his preferred landing spot.
But there’s been one problem: Philly has only wanted to make a deal that keeps open their championship window, and it’s been made clear that they wouldn’t make a trade just to appease Harden if it came at the expense of their ability to compete for a title. And according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the team has decided that there’s no deal out there that would keep their championship hopes alive, and as a result, have determined that all trade talks for Harden will come to an end.
ESPN Sources: The 76ers have ended trade talks on guard James Harden and plan to bring him back to training camp for start of the season. The Sixers had periodic offseason conversations with the Clippers — Harden’s desired destination — but no traction on a deal materialized. pic.twitter.com/sJwXMsBYKW
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 12, 2023
Sixers and Harden agreed to seek a trade together after Harden picked up his player option for 2023-2024, but Philly believes it has a championship team with Harden and want to find a way to make it work with him this season, sources said.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 12, 2023
Wojnarowski noted that Philadelphia has opted to go down a road that hasn’t always ended well with Harden, as he famously raised a fuss to get his way out of both Houston and Brooklyn.
Harden has been emphatic in wanting a trade, so the Sixers are setting up an uncomfortable situation to start camp. Ultimately, Philadelphia wouldn’t make a trade that they believed would compromise their title hopes.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 12, 2023
This will obviously make the next few weeks of the Sixers offseason fascinating, in part because Harden doesn’t have a ton of leverage in this situation due to his impending free agency next summer. He has, however, hinted that he might go into his bag of tricks, as he cryptically posted “it’s time to get uncomfortable” on Instagram earlier this summer.
