10:58am: Harden has been in Houston since traveling there after the Sixers’ practice on Sunday, a league source tells Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link).
The team plans to give him a chance to explain his unexcused absence from today’s practice before making a decision on potential discipline, tweets Shelburne. As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, the fine for missing a practice is modest (starting at $2,500), but if Harden skips a game without the team’s consent, he could face fines of $389K per contest.
Meanwhile, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN says (via Twitter) that the gap between the Clippers and Sixers in Harden trade talks remains “sizable.”
10:21am: Sixers guard James Harden is a “no-show” at the team’s Wednesday practice, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). According to Charania, Harden hasn’t been with the team since Sunday.
After skipping media day at the start of the month and then missing the first day of training camp, Harden reported to the Sixers and didn’t appear to be making any waves. However, he still wants to be traded after requesting a change of scenery in June and told reporters last week that he didn’t see a path to reconciliation with Philadelphia’s front office.
Charania reported on Tuesday that even though Harden has been professional when he’s been around the team, he hasn’t attended any of the 76ers’ preseason games, skipped at least one shootaround, and has only participated in one five-on-five scrimmage (on October 7) since rejoining the club.
During his media session last Friday, Harden suggested that he still intends to play while he awaits a trade, adding that he might return to the court for the team’s last preseason game. It’s unclear if that’s still the plan or if his mindset has changed in recent days. According to Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports (Twitter link), if Harden is going to play in this Friday’s preseason finale, today would have been an important “ramp-up” day.
Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports wrote on Tuesday that one reason Harden wasn’t making waves in camp was a belief that the Sixers and Clippers weren’t significantly far apart in their trade talks. However, Fischer reported later on Tuesday that there’s still a gap the two teams haven’t been able to bridge and that Harden appears increasingly likely to still be a 76er when the regular season begins.
According to Fischer (Twitter link), Harden is currently in Houston instead of Philadelphia, as he was on media day. He remains frustrated by the lack of progress toward a trade to Los Angeles, per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN (Twitter link).
This guy needs to just go away
Last nba contract
CTE from aggressive booty clapping at the renowned Houston strip club scene?
What a clown.
ronald mcdonald, bozo, and krusty are offended.
You guys are always so quick to judge! Charity. He’s there because of Charity. She’s almost through nursing school, and James is such a big help.
And her stage name is Charity and she is wearing a Nurses uniform…
Somebody fill me in. Is there some kind of problem between Harden and Philly? He’s always been so professional and a team guy, this just doesn’t make sense.
I think Morey has a big part in this as well. I think he deserves 1/2 the blame as well. Your team is in disarray. Not looking good for you guys going forward if this doesn’t get handled properly. Then another waisted year. You know what happens with Joel? He will. Leave to a better situation. Do you think Harden cares about the fines? Lol
How is the team in disarray ? The team seems focused and enjoying coach nurse. Your comment is not only foolish but disingenuous. Morey has made his position clear on harden. Your spelling would indicate any further comment by me is a WASTE of time.
“How is the team in disarray?”
Umm. You don’t know?
Missing from this article (as of 1pm Wed) is the interview where he says:
“No,” Harden said flatly, when asked directly if he thought things could get patched up with Morey. “This is not even about this situation — this is in life. When you lose trust in someone, it’s like a marriage … you lose trust in someone, you know what I mean? It’s pretty simple.”
So who has trust in him?? Three teams, three contracts trusting him to complete, three lies. Cut him loose. Don’t care what we get back as long as the cancer is gone.
We wrote about those comments in a previous story, which we linked to in this one (in the “…told reporters last week that he didn’t see a path to reconciliation with Philadelphia’s front office” line).
Harden makes $434,634.17 dollars a game.
Haaaaaa love it !
Complete shocker. Harden didn’t get his way so he went home to pout. Nobody could see that coming. Please stop the Harden to the Bulls dung. They have enough problems.
Watching folks draft Harden in the 2nd round of some fantasy leagues I just had to laugh. When will people learn not to trust this man-child, in fantasy or reality?
When you tell a team, only trade me to this one team, of course that other team knows that and they are going to get you coming and going on that trade. Too bad James. We can’t trade you. We tried, but we are not sending you there for a bag of balls. Big Baby Harden.
Glen Davis resents that!
This James Harden fella…
I hear he is a fool…
Scarlett misspelled. Should be ” tool “.