James Harden wanted to be with the Philadelphia 76ers for the team’s season-opener on the road against the Milwaukee Bucks. Harden, who had been away from the team for 10 days in what the organization is calling an excused absence, made a surprise appearance at practice on Wednesday. If Harden thought he was going to be with the team in Milwaukee, he was wrong.
The 76ers wouldn’t let James Harden onto the team plane before Bucks game
James Harden was turned away from the Sixers’ team plane for the season opener.
Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
When Harden showed up the airport to board the team plane with his teammates, a team official turned him away, according to TNT’s Chris Haynes. General manager Elton Brand and head coach Nick Nurse then gave Harden the news that they wanted him conducting individual workouts at the team facility to gauge his conditioning level.
Here’s Haynes’ full report from just before the Sixers and Bucks squared-off in the season opener for both clubs on Thursday night.
Harden was upset at the prospect of being turned away, and said he wanted to work out with the team’s assistant coaches on the road. Given everything he’s pulled this offseason, it’s not much of a surprise that the Sixers wouldn’t want him around.
Harden requested a trade from the Sixers at the start of the offseason after a bizarre sequence of events that saw him opt into his player option and immediately demand to be sent to the Los Angeles Clippers. Harden seemed to believed the 76ers were going to reward him long-term contract extension this summer after he took a pay cut to help the team add role players last season. Top executive Daryl Morey decided not to give Harden an extension, and Harden spent the rest of the offseason sulking as he waited for a trade to materialize. During an appearance in China, Harden called Morey a liar in a viral video and said he’d never play for an organization with him again.
Harden was with the team in training camp ... at least for a little while. Harden last scrimmaged on Oct. 7, and did not play in the preseason.
The NBA is investigating Harden’s absence, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, for how it relates to the league’s new player participation policy. Of course, there shouldn’t much mystery here: Harden wants a trade, the Sixers want an engaged player, and Morey doesn’t want to trade him until he knows he can fully maximize his return. This soap opera is far from over.
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