The two dominos left to fall in the NBA ahead of the 2023-24 season is what the future holds for superstar guards James Harden of the Philadelphia 76ers and Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard, with both players still waiting to be traded after requesting to be moved earlier in this summer.
Unfortunately for Harden, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic, it doesn’t appear that the 76ers are budging anytime soon, with the team reportedly ending trade talks with the Los Angeles Clippers and any other interested teams.
In a situation that is reminiscent of the Ben Simmons saga two seasons ago, a team source confirmed to The Athletic that the Sixers have decided to end trade talks on disgruntled star James Harden and are now planning on him being in training camp late next month. Yet as Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey is well aware, the prospect of fixing this fractured relationship between Harden and the organization that he no longer wants to play for is not that simple.
This is an interesting turn of events in Philadelphia, as it seems that general manager Daryl Morey is more than content with an awkward situation heading into training camp because the team simply isn’t getting the compensation it wants in return for the former NBA MVP in trade talks.
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As Amick points out, Morey did the same thing with Ben Simmons, which worked out in the team’s favor, so if it’s not broken, why fix it.
It’ll be interesting to see how this situation unfolds as Harden has to be disappointed with this development, which makes for a tense atmosphere in Philadelphia moving forward.