It has been months since Philadelphia 76ers star guard James Harden requested a trade, though he’s still a member of the team.
A recent report indicates that Harden has no interest in rejoining the 76ers in earnest.
“Yet as NBA coaching challenges go, this is about as hard as it gets,” Sam Amick wrote. “Even if Harden shows up as expected on Day No. 2, league sources say he still has zero intentions of rejoining this group in earnest.”
Harden was selected with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft after spending two seasons playing college basketball at Arizona State University. He has played for four teams — the Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Brooklyn Nets and 76ers — across his 14 seasons in the NBA.
The 34-year-old floor general averaged 21.0 points, 6.1 rebounds and a league-best 10.7 assists per game in 58 games played with the 76ers during the 2022-23 regular season. He also shot the ball with impressive accuracy from behind the three-point line, seeing as how he converted 38.5 percent of his three-point attempts.
Interestingly, Harden didn’t earn a spot in the All-Star Game despite leading the entire league in assists per game.
Unfortunately for 76ers fans, the point guard wasn’t able to carry over his excellent play from the 2022-23 regular season into the 2023 playoffs.
Harden struggled to score the ball efficiently throughout Philadelphia’s playoff run, particularly in the team’s first-round playoff series against Mikal Bridges and the Nets. He converted just 34.3 percent of his shots from the field for the series.
However, despite Harden’s scoring efficiency woes, the 76ers had no problem defeating the Nets, sweeping Brooklyn in four games.
Against Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics in the second round, Harden shot the ball much better from the field. He converted 42.2 percent of his shots from the field during the series, which isn’t an excellent percentage but much better than his shooting percentage in the first round.
Here’s to hoping that the 76ers will grant Harden’s trade wish soon and deal him to a contending team such as the Los Angeles Clippers before the 2023-24 regular season tips off in a few weeks.
