James Harden wants out from Philadelphia, and he still demands to be traded with the Los Angeles Clippers being his no.1 preferred destination. Despite what the Sixers feared before the start of the preseason, Harden appeared in the training camp and worked with the rest of the team.
Fellow Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey appeared in JJ Redick’s podcast and described his experience of training with a disgruntled teammate. Maxey was also part of the Sixers squad that went through the Ben Simmons mess. Harden, however, decided to go on a more quiet path after demanding out.
“First of all, I’m gonna give a shoutout to JH because he didn’t make it weird at all,” Maxey revealed. “He came in and he was very like, it’s not what I was expecting. I’m just gonna be honest, not what I expected. He was very receptive.
He worked hard. He did all the drills. He was talking to even young guys that he didn’t know. Think about it, James Harden won MVP, scoring champ, two-time assists leader. Like he’s sitting there talking to guys like Ricky Council.”
According to NBA insider Sam Amick of The Athletic, “The Beard” still has zero intentions of playing for Philadelphia again. Harden requested a trade from the Sixers in June and called out President and friend Daryl Morey for the way that he handled his contract situation. Harden took a pay cut last season to help the Sixers build a competitive squad.
According to NBA insider Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, Harden felt Morey ghosted him before free agency started. As a result, he did not wait the Sixers to make an offer after June 30 picking up the option on his current deal. After that, the former MVP demanded a trade with LA being his preferred destination.
Harden has yet to make his debut with the Philadelphia 76ers in the preseason. It’s still unclear whether he will play for his team and if he will keep the same attitude, especially if no trade is materialized soon.
