NBA Rumors: James Harden believes that his relationship with the Philadelphia 76ers is beyond repair.
Relationships are important. If there’s anything that we’ve learned throughout the player empowerment movement in the NBA, it’s that. Right now, the Philadelphia 76ers are learning that the hard way. As the team’s relationship with James Harden has deteriorated, so have their chances of winning a championship this season.
Weeks before the official start of training camps, the Sixers are in an unenviable situation. One of their star players has requested a trade and after the team has elected to not trade him, he’s decided to make things even messier. If the Sixers aren’t careful, this is the type of situation that could end up derailing their entire build.
It should be noted, even after a few days that Harden hasn’t shifted on his stance. Harden told a Houston reporter that he doesn’t believe his relationship with the Sixers is repairable at this point. That probably opens the door to him possibly being a no-show when training camp opens, if he’s still not traded at that point.
Where did it all go wrong for James Harden, Philadelphia 76ers?
It’s almost impossible to predict when it all began to go south for Harden and the Sixers. However, you can probably estimate that his bad blood – whatever it stems from – started around last Christmas. That’s when we began to hear the whispers that Harden was interested in returning to Houston.
Could that have been a leverage play in order to get the Sixers to give Harden the max extension that he was probably seeking? Maybe. But the fact that it could’ve been linked all the way to last season tells you all you need to know about this situation. This is probably something that has lingered for quite some time and has led to this blowup between both sides.
It’s quite unfortunate when you figure that the Sixers were just one win away from making the Eastern Conference Finals last season. It’s a shame that instead of being motivated to finally break through in the Eastern Conference, Harden wants out. This one move could completely change the trajectory of the franchise moving forward.
How this all ends is the big question. At this point, it’s almost impossible to predict as well. With everything that we do know, though, it would be entirely unfathomable for the Sixers to bring Harden into camp. That can’t happen, right?