James Harden had no choice but to rejoin the 76ers for training camp this month, but his desire for a change of scenery has not changed weeks after making his initial request. As some predict a wild and dramatic season for the Sixers, one of their own chimed in to offer his own advice.
Speaking directly on the saga with Harden, former 76ers coach Doc Rivers encouraged him to resist making things any worse for himself. ”Just play and it will work out,” said Doc. “James is a terrific player. If he has to go to Philadelphia, clearly that’s not the situation that he wants to be in, going by what he’s said. Just go and play. Be a pro, and I think it will all work out.”
After failed stints in Houston and Brooklyn, Harden came to the 76ers hoping to make amends for his previous stops. Instead, he only confirmed some of the doubts about his character by quitting on the team and making things personal with team GM, and his former friend, Daryl Morey.
Harden Has Declared War On The 76ers
The issues for Harden and Philly stemmed from last summer when he agreed to take a pay cut in order to give the 76ers more flexibility to make moves. Apparently, he made his sacrifice under the assumption that he’d get rewarded with a big extension this summer, and when that offer was never made, he felt he had no choice but to opt into his contract and try and force his way out of town.
Harden has already made things personal by calling Daryl Morey a liar in public but that may only be the tip of the iceberg for how far he’s willing to go… “James Harden wants a trade. He wants to make the 76ers uncomfortable,” reported Adrian Wojnarowski. “So uncomfortable, ultimately, they don’t think they’ll get the best out of him and make a trade.”
Obviously, things have a chance of getting ugly in Philadelphia but it all depends on Harden and what actions he decides to take in order to get his way. It seems like only a matter of time now before some deal gets done, but who knows how long it will be before the 76ers recover from this latest ordeal.
Doc Reveals Inside Details On His Relationship With Harden
In the aftermath of their 2023 playoff defeat, the 76ers fired their head coach Dov Rivers, who was tagged as the scapegoat for their failed season. Right or not, Rivers was dismissed by Morey himself because of Harden… but now he’s able to provide his own perspective on where things went wrong for his former team.
“I really believe there are ways you have to play to win and, obviously, I was never willing to compromise on that,” said Doc Rivers on his experience coaching Harden. “It was a relationship of communication. I can tell you, we talked when we needed to talk all the time.”
For all the heat that James got last season, he was among the league’s best guards with averages of 21 points, 10.7 assists, and 6.1 rebounds per game on 44.1% shooting. If he’s able to deliver even a portion of that production to Philly this season, it could mean everything for how they finish when it’s all said and done. For now, though, it’ll be a miracle if he even shows up on opening night.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
