James Harden misses Sixers practice again on Thursday, per reports
Written by CBS SPORTS ALL RIGHTS RESERVED on October 20, 2023
James Harden was again absent from Philadelphia 76ers practice on Thursday, according to multiple reports. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported simply that Harden did not attend, citing a source, while The Athletic’s Shams Charania and the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Keith Pompey reported that Harden missed practice due to a personal matter.
The Inquirer previously reported that, following the Sixers’ practice on Sunday, Harden flew to Houston, where he has remained as the team prepares for the start of the 2023-24 regular season. Philadelphia’s preseason finale is Friday against the Atlanta Hawks.
Harden has been in contact with the Sixers through general manager Elton Brand as recently as Tuesday, according to The Athletic’s Sam Amick, but wants them to trade him to the Los Angeles Clippers. On Monday, Philadelphia told the Clippers that it would accept an offer that included Terance Mann, an unprotected future Clippers pick, a pick swap and salary filler, but the Clippers refused to include Mann in the deal, per The Athletic.
Philadelphia president Daryl Morey was incredulous, according to The Athletic, telling Clippers president Lawrence Frank that the Clippers were “unserious” about making a deal and should include star Paul George if they were so attached to Mann and their future picks. Harden, however, reportedly believes that Morey is being unreasonable by not accepting the Clippers’ offer.
“This is an escalation in tactics, this is, ‘I am not happy,’” ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported Wednesday. “As somebody close to him told me, this is only the beginning of what he plans to do here.”
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The Sixers have already lined up deals to trade Mann for a first-round pick, according to The Athletic. Morey has said publicly that they would be willing to trade Harden for either another star player or for a combination of picks and players that could be traded for a star.
With or without Harden, Philadelphia’s season opener is a week away: Next Thursday in Milwaukee. It will be broadcast nationally on TNT.
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