- Former Timberwolves forward says Harden’s play last season made him impossible to trade
- Harden had one of the worst postseasons of his career during the 76ers’ epic collapse
- Mitchell believes Harden made a mistake by burning bridges in Philly
Former league MVP James Harden is committed to doing everything in his power to force a trade from the 76ers. With only one year left on his deal, Harden does have some leverage in this situation but it’s not entirely under his control.
In fact, due to Harden’s own struggles last season, teams across the league (like the LA Clippers) are hesitant to make a move for him.
“James needs to look and see how he played. I can say to you as your coach: James if you ball out for me when it’s time for your contract at the end of the year I’m gonna be in there fighting for you,” said Sam Mitchell on Sirius XM NBA Radio.
"You gotta give me something to fight with"
🏀 @SamMitchellNBA tells @jumpshot8 if James Harden played better, the situation in Philly would be different pic.twitter.com/ViB1tZl4gO
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) August 20, 2023
“But you gotta give me something to fight with. If you play in the playoffs and you average 12 points per game and you have one of the worst playoffs of your career, what do I have to go in and fight the owner with? So, to me, I think James made it tough by how he played.”
Harden was already being weighed down by his previous trade requests, which both ended in an ugly and messy divorce. So, coming into his stint with the 76ers, there was already massive distrust in Harden’s loyalty.
By the end of the postseason, which the Sixers lost in the second round, all fans could talk about was Harden’s wild inconsistency. After an explosive performance in Game 1, James followed it up with a 12-point effort on 2-for-14 shooting.
So now, even with James determined to find a new team, interest is at an all-time low for the former MVP and nobody knows when or if that will change.
Is James Harden’s Trade Demand A Mistake?
It’s no secret that Harden seeks a move to the Clippers, but they haven’t been too aggressive in trying to make a deal. It’s at a point now where Morey and the Sixers have basically shut down trade talks with every expectation that Harden will report to training camp next month.
James will continue playing hardball, of course, and will make life as miserable as he can for the franchise. But at 33 years old, time is running out for the Beard to find his own team and finally win the title that has eluded him for so many years.
If he wastes this next season by sitting out and sowing discord behind the scenes, it may be the thing he gets remembered for when his career is all said and done.
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