James Harden Arrives at Camp, Practices With Sixers

Well, at least James Harden did more than show up to 76ers training camp. He actually practiced, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

In most NBA cities, this would hardly be news. But Harden has been holding out after demanding a trade in June. By all accounts, he is still seeking one. But one does not appear to be on the way, as the Sixers can’t find a deal they like.

So Harden and the Sixers are back together, for now, in Colorado Springs, Colo., home of the team’s camp. But again, this isn’t expected to be over. 

As Wojnarowski relayed, Harden is expected to make the Sixers feel “uncomfortable” just by having him around.

That said, Harden is said to be just fine with new coach Nick Nurse, center Joel Embiid and the rest of his teammates. It’s president of basketball operations Daryl Morey who Harden has said he has an issue.

At any rate, trade talks are going nowhere.

“There’s not a trade out there that keeps the Sixers in championship contention this season,”  Woj said on NBA Today. 

“The difference between the Harden situation and the Ben Simmons‘ situation a couple of years ago is there were a lot of possible deals out there for Ben Simmons. You would measure them. You would look at them. What they could get. Teams in both conferences had interest in Ben Simmons.

“This is different. There’s not widespread interest in James Harden. The Clippers are the most motivated team to give up at least a first-round pick in this. Or potentially, let’s say, a pick swap. I’m not saying they’ve offered that in this.

“The Clippers are the most win-now team. They’ve needed to solidify that lead guard position. At the same time, the Clippers are not in a position to gut all their assets for the future… They also know ‘We don’t want to bid against ourselves.’ The Sixers don’t have anything else. The Knicks talked to the Sixers early on in this thing, but there’s no great motivation for the Knicks to do a one-year rental for James Harden.”

James Harden is participating in Philadelphia 76ers practice at Colorado State University this morning, sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 4, 2023