The Philadelphia 76ers’ star guard James Harden still hasn’t changed his mind about wanting to be traded. But it turns out it wasn’t that long ago when Harden intended to spend the rest of his career with the franchise.
Speaking with reporters on Friday, Harden said that his intention was to retire as a member of the 76ers when he was traded to Philly from the Brooklyn Nets midway through the 2021-22 season.
“When I got traded here, my whole thing was I wanted to retire a Sixer. I wanted to be here and retire a Sixer,” Harden said.
But according to the 34-year-old player, the 76ers’ had other plans that caused him to rethink his stance.
“The front office didn’t have that in their future plan. It’s literally out of my control. It’s something I didn’t want to happen to be in this position,” he added.
After not being offered a new contract by the 76ers at the start of the offseason, Harden picked up his player option for the 2023-24 season and issued a trade request. He later publicly revealed that he blames Philly’s president of basketball operations, Daryl Morrey, for the entire situation and even called him a “liar” during one media appearance.
Despite all the controversy, Harden decided to take part in the 76ers’ training camp but doesn’t see his relationship with the franchise repairing.
“It’s not just about this situation, but in life, when you lose trust in someone … it’s like a marriage, when you lose trust in someone, it’s pretty simple,” Harden told reporters when asked about the possibility of reconciling with the 76ers’ front office.
Harden reportedly wants to be traded to the Los Angeles Clippers, but that doesn’t seem a viable option at the moment. The 76ers are seeking a substantial return if they were to trade Harden, but the Clippers, being the only interested team, are not willing to give up much for the former NBA MVP.
