Following the Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday trades, all eyes turned toward James Harden as the next potential star trade before the season. However, Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes that Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey won’t rush into any sort of deal involving the star guard, regardless of any potential pushback from Harden, even if that means keeping him into the season.
Mizell writes that Morey isn’t going to be pressured into making a move for the sake of making the trade despite other Eastern Conference rivals adding big pieces like Lillard and Holiday. Morey and the Sixers took a similar approach with Ben Simmons two years ago, holding him all the way until the trade deadline so that they could find the most suitable deal.
While outsiders in Philly are antsy to move on from the 10-time All-Star, Mizell writes that the belief inside the organization is that a move to make a trade now, even if it would end any potential distraction, is too reckless to justify. Mizell explains that sources on both sides are taking things day-by-day, even if that means leaving the door open for Harden to make things uncomfortable leading into the season, something he hasn’t done up to this point.
Morey is unlikely to allow Harden to force his hand, Mizell writes, because head coach Nick Nurse could always bench Harden and start Tyrese Maxey as the team’s lead ball-handler. Several other factors play into a potential decision by the Sixers to hold Harden until the deadline, according to Mizell, including the star guard potentially rescinding his trade request, better prospective trades popping up as the season goes on, and not wanting to take a step back during their window of contention, especially coming off Joel Embiid‘s MVP year.
We have more from the Sixers:
- Harden was a full participant in Philadelphia’s final training camp practice at Colorado State on Friday for the first time since he re-joined the team on Tuesday, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps writes. However, his status for the Sixers’ preseason opener against the Celtics on Sunday is still uncertain, according to Bontemps, who says Nurse’s rotations are still fluid for the first preseason action for the Sixers.
- Embiid reiterated to reporters on Thursday that Harden’s presence for the Sixers was not a distraction, stating that the team’s focus is on learning and installing Nurse’s schemes, Bontemps writes. “As a team, we’re just focused on what we’ve got to learn, and learn as soon as possible,” Embiid said. “We don’t have a lot of time. We want to win, and that’s the goal.“
- While the Harden situation is drawing plenty of attention, there are a handful of other storylines flying under the radar during Philadelphia’s camp. Maxey, in particular, is drawing rave reviews from Nurse, who’s becoming increasingly impressed by the guard’s outside shot and ability to create space, according to PHLY Sports’ Derek Bodner. Bodner also writes that the Sixers’ ball movement has been improved in camp.
Embiid informed USA Basketball executive director Grant Hill of his decision Thursday morning, sources tell Shelburne. She adds that Embiid and Hill met for nearly an hour earlier this week in Fort Collins, Colorado, where the Sixers are conducting training camp.