Still frustrated by his situation with the Sixers, James Harden continues to apply pressure to try to obtain his transfer from Philadelphia. Absent from Media Day yesterday, the Bearded Man could arrive at training camp with bad intentions.
Three years ago, when he was looking to transfer from Houston, James Harden used great means to try to force the hand of the Rockets leaders. He had arrived late to training camp, out of shape, all after having a series of evenings in Vegas in the middle of COVID. This notably caused tension within the Houston team, with Harden getting confused with several teammates.
We are now in 2023, and we could well witness a similar episode among the Sixers.
REPORT: James Harden is expected to eventually show up for camp and make the situation “painful” for the 76ers, per @JaredSGreenberg. pic.twitter.com/ZOI4MMqcvV
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) October 2, 2023
According to Jared Greenberg of NBA TV, which cites a source close to the Sixers, James Harden should arrive at Philly training camp with the aim of making the situation “painful” for the franchise, which for the moment refuses to transfer Harden without receiving a level of compensation. similar in exchange. Concretely, what does that mean? The future will tell us, but we already know that the Bearded Man is a real specialist when it comes to spoiling the atmosphere in order to get what he wants. We saw it in Houston as mentioned just above, but also in Brooklyn in 2022, and it is now Philadelphia’s turn to experience it.
The difference with previous episodes is that James Harden is in a contract year and his rating is no longer as high as before. Certainly, he remains an All-Star caliber playmaker averaging 21 points and 11 assists, but he is already 34 years old and his history doesn’t really work for him. Between his tendency to enter into conflict with his leaders, the decline shown in recent years and his failures in the Playoffs, teams are no longer rushing to acquire his services today. So watch out for backfire.
“I think James needs to be careful. Because the NBA no longer needs him. We are all for player empowerment. But he forced his departure from Houston, he forced his departure from Brooklyn, and now he’s trying to force his departure from Philadelphia.
He’s so talented, but he could put himself out of the league, which is crazy.”
–Matt Barnes
James Harden and the Sixers are still at an impasse three weeks before the start of the season, and we can’t wait to see how training camp will unfold with this situation hanging over Philly. In any case we shouldn’t be bored.
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Text source: NBA TV
The wiggle room is running out for Harden.
Certified Smoke returns on the SHOWTIME Basketball YouTube Monday. pic.twitter.com/e1pAnl8ewO
— SHOWTIME Basketball (@shobasketball) September 29, 2023