- 76ers guard admits that this is not the first trade request his team has dealt with
- Maxey refuses to cast blame on Harden for quitting on the team
- Maxey and the Sixers prepared to give Harden a warm welcome if he changes his mind
James Harden has made things ugly in his ongoing war with Daryl Morey, but young guard Tyrese Maxey apparently isn’t losing too much sleep over his team’s situation. When asked about the Harden dilemma and how his trade request will affect next season, Maxey was quick to point out that the 76ers are uniquely qualified to handle this ordeal.
“It’s crazy to say this, but it’s not our first rodeo, honestly,” said Maxey via Liberty Ballers. “That’s funny to say, but that’s life. James is his own individual and he’s able to do whatever he pleases. I’m preparing right now to play with him or without him. … and I love James. If James decided he’s going to come back and play for us, there’s nobody in this organization that would be upset about that.”
Maxey is talking about Ben Simmons here, whose breakup with Philly was arguably worse than what we’re seeing with James right now. Once considered an All-Star, Simmons had a drastic downfall that got weird when he passed up an open layup in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals.
In the weeks that followed, Simmons basically burned all bridges within the franchise and literally found excuses not to play for them until he was eventually traded in February.
Landing Harden in that trade was a massive win for Philadelphia, even knowing how it’s likely to end. And while Philly is no doubt weaker because of this drama, they may be one of the few teams in the league prepared for this sort of thing given what they had to experience during the Simmons situation.
How Does This End For The 76ers?
With Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, we can still expect the Sixers to be at least somewhat relevant in the East next season. But with James on the roster, their chance to win grows exponentially, and part of them still hopes he’ll change his mind and come back.
“I will say this about the situation: to each his own. James, he’s a professional and he’s doing something for a reason. You just have to kind of sit back and understand what he’s doing as a friend,” said Maxey.
Only time will tell how this plays out in Philly, but a guy like Joel Embiid isn’t keen on wasting more years of his prime. The clock is ticking for Philly and they need to take action and salvage this situation before it’s too late to recover…
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