James Harden Rumors | Hoops Rumors

James Harden Targeting Monday Return

November 30th, 2022 at 12:52pm CST by Luke Adams

Sixers star James Harden is targeting Monday’s game against his former team in Houston for his return from a right foot injury, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Shams Charania of The Athletic first reported (via Twitter) that Harden is aiming to make it back at some point on Philadelphia’s current three-game road trip, which begins on Wednesday in Cleveland. The team will play in Friday in Memphis before heading to Houston for Monday’s matchup. Charania – like Pompey – says a Monday return is most likely for Harden.

The Sixers have been significantly shorthanded as of late, particularly in their backcourt, where Harden has been on the shelf since November 2 and Tyrese Maxey has been out since Nov. 18 with a foot injury of his own. Star center Joel Embiid also missed some time before rejoining Philadelphia’s lineup on Monday.

Despite the health issues affecting their top players, the 76ers have held their own in recent weeks. They’re 8-4 since Harden went down, including 3-1 in the games that Harden, Maxey, and Emibid all missed.

Maxey’s return is likely a little ways off yet, but the Sixers will be in position to begin solidifying a spot near the top of the Eastern Conference standings if Embiid and Harden are both healthy for the foreseeable future beginning next week. At 12-9, the club currently ranks fifth in the East.

Sixers Notes: Tucker, Harden, Milton, Reed

November 28th, 2022 at 9:45am CST by Arthur Hill

P.J. Tucker only has three combined points in his last seven games, but he’s not concerned about a lack of offense, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The Sixers won five of those games, even with their three best players missing time, and Tucker seems comfortable with his current role.

“As long as we’re winning, it doesn’t matter,” he said. “Of course you want to get more shots. What player doesn’t? But with the way we play — Coach (Doc Rivers) talks about a lack of ball movement all the time — it’s one of those things. Sometimes you get shots, sometimes you don’t. You keep playing and figure it out.”

Philadelphia obviously didn’t sign Tucker over the summer because of his scoring. It was his defensive presence and other intangibles that convinced the team to give him a three-year, $33.2MM contract. Still, Pompey states that his lack of involvement in the offense can be concerning. Tucker spends many possessions spotting up in the corner, and he’s often out of rhythm when he does get a chance to shoot.

“Sometimes you get shots,” Tucker said. “Sometimes you don’t. Sometimes the ball moves, sometimes it doesn’t. Without having (Joel Embiid), (the) ball’s got to pop. Ball’s got to move. Make easy shots for each other. It is what it is.”

There’s more on the Sixers:

James Harden, who has been out of action since November 2 with a strained tendon in his right foot, may be ready to return in a few days, Pompey adds. “It’s different with James because James kind of controls the game,” Tucker said. “He gets everybody the ball. Without James, it’s tough — that’s why the ball has to move even more.”
Shake Milton has made a strong case for rotation minutes once Harden and Tyrese Maxey are back on the court, according to Rich Hofmann of The Athletic. Milton has averaged 22.8 points and 6.8 rebounds over the past four games, along with 7.8 assists and only 2.5 turnovers. He’s also shooting .589/.500/.938 during that span. Hofmann notes that Milton was playing well before the stars were injured and shouldn’t be considered the team’s 11th man anymore.
Paul Reed is learning to be more patient on offense and may be the choice for backup center minutes ahead of Montrezl Harrell once Embiid returns, Hofmann adds.

Atlantic Notes: Banton, VanVleet, Harden, Brogdon

November 17th, 2022 at 9:33pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The already-shorthanded Raptors lost guard Dalano Banton to a left ankle sprain during Toronto’s 112-104 victory against the Heat on Wednesday, reports Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link).

Toronto head coach Nick Nurse is pessimistic about the outlook, indicating that the ankle “doesn’t look too good,” per Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports (via Twitter). Nurse revealed that Banton will be undergoing tests to determine the extent of the injury.

The second-year guard out of Nebraska is averaging 6.4 PPG, 1.3 RPG and 1.1 APG for the Raptors as a reserve in just 11.2 MPG, but had a breakout performance on Monday, scoring a career-high 27 points.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

Raptors point guard Fred VanVleet made his return to the floor for Toronto in its Miami victory following a bad cold. He noted that he is continuing to test negative for COVID-19, tweets Lewenberg. “It wasn’t fun but hopefully the worst is behind me, just happy to be back,” VanVleet said. In 39 minutes, he scored 23 points on 7-of-21 shooting.
Sixers guard James Harden reveals that he has been progressing positively from his tendon strain, per Derek Bodner (Twitter link). Bodner notes that Harden has indicated he is “on pace” to come back to the floor in line with his initially projected one-month rehab window. “We’ve got a plan,” Harden said, according to Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter). “We’ve got a script that we’re trying to stick to. All in all, I feel good.”
Celtics sixth man Malcolm Brogdon looks set to suit up once again for Boston, having made significant progress in his recovery from a tight right hamstring, reports The Athletic’s Jared Weiss (Twitter link). The 6’5″ vet has not played since November 9.

Atlantic Notes: Udoka, Durant, Embiid, Raptors

November 7th, 2022 at 8:03am CST by Arthur Hill

The Nets may be having second thoughts about hiring Ime Udoka as their next head coach, tweets NBA reporter Marc Stein, who hears that “strong voices” are warning owner Joe Tsai about the potential move. Udoka emerged as the “strong frontrunner” for the job almost immediately after the decision to part ways with Steve Nash was announced last Tuesday.

However, league sources tell Stein that people close to Tsai are warning him to reconsider any commitment to Udoka considering the atmosphere of turmoil in Brooklyn. Udoka would bring additional baggage after being suspended for the season as Celtics head coach following an affair with a team staffer.

Jacque Vaughn continues to serve as interim coach and has led the Nets to a 2-1 record, with back-to-back road wins over the weekend.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Nets star Kevin Durant is interested in being part of the ownership group for the NFL’s Washington Commanders if the team is put up for sale, per Nick Friedell of ESPN. Durant is a long-time fan of the team, but he might have competition from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and recording artist Jay-Z if current owner Dan Snyder decides to sell. “Our market is incredible,” Durant said. “There’s a lot of support in D.C., a lot of money in D.C. to be made. … Regardless of what’s going on, they pretty much built that team up, built that stadium, built the brand up pretty nicely. I know we’ve had some losing seasons, but it’s starting to come around for us. I’m excited as a fan. I’m excited about the sale. I’m excited to see who they bring in and who they sell the team to and see how we move forward with it.”
Sixers coach Doc Rivers believes there’s a “75% chance” Joel Embiid will return tonight after missing three straight games with an illness, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “He looked good,” Rivers said after watching Embiid at Sunday’s practice. “I mean listen, he had the flu and it’s hard. Your lungs are burning and he [still] looked pretty good.” Rivers plans to run the offense through Embiid while James Harden is sidelined with a strained tendon in his right foot. Harden is wearing a walking boot, and the foot is currently non-weight-bearing, tweets Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The Raptors will need someone to replace the contribution of Pascal Siakam while he’s out of action with an adductor strain, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. Veterans Thaddeus Young and Otto Porter looked good in Sunday’s win over the Bulls. “They just know kind of where to be … so that felt like the right move, playing those guys tonight just because the schemes were pretty tricky,” coach Nick Nurse said.

James Harden Suffers Foot Strain, Out One Month

November 3rd, 2022 at 1:47pm CST by Rory Maher

Star guard James Harden has sustained a strained tendon in his right foot and is expected to miss one month for the Sixers, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

It’s a tough blow for both the player and the team, as the Sixers have gotten off to a slow start, currently sitting with a 4-5 record after dropping Wednesday’s game to the Wizards. According to Wojnarowski, Harden suffered the foot strain during last night’s loss, with testing revealing the injury today.

A 10-time All-Star and former league MVP, Harden is averaging 22.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 10.0 assists and 1.1 steals on .441/.333/.929 shooting through nine games (36.8 minutes per contest). He’s also turning the ball over at his lowest rate since the 2011/12 campaign.

If Harden returns by Philadelphia’s game on December 5, he’ll have missed 14 games with the injury. As ESPN’s Tim Bontemps notes (via Twitter), it’s a difficult stretch of games for the 76ers, who face the Knicks, Suns, Hawks (twice), Jazz, Bucks and Timberwolves over their next seven contests.

With Harden sidelined, look for Joel Embiid (who has already missed three games, one with a sore knee and the past two with the flu), Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris to increase their shot attempts. Reserve guard De’Anthony Melton, who missed Wednesday’s contest with a sore back, will likely start in Harden’s place.

It will also be an opportunity for players like Shake Milton, Matisse Thybulle and Furkan Korkmaz to carve out potential rotation roles, since Harden is second in the team in minutes played, only trailing Maxey.

Sixers Lose 2023, 2024 Second-Round Picks Due To Gun-Jumping

October 31st, 2022 at 3:10pm CST by Rory Maher

After discovering that the Sixers held early free agent discussions with forwards P.J. Tucker and Danuel House prior to the permitted date, the NBA announced today (via Twitter) that it has rescinded the team’s 2023 and 2024 second-round picks.

The league noted that Philadelphia “fully cooperated” with its investigation into tampering, or “gun-jumping.” The Sixers released a statement confirming the news (Twitter link via ESPN’s Tim Bontemps).

“The Philadelphia 76ers fully cooperated with the NBA’s investigation and acknowledge the league’s ruling. We’re moving forward, focused on the season ahead.”

As Shams Charania of The Athletic notes (via Twitter), while the NBA did dock the Sixers for the early discussions with Tucker and House, it found no wrongdoing with James Harden‘s significant pay cut, which gave the Sixers the flexibility to use their full non-taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Tucker and their bi-annual exception to sign House. Both players previously played with Harden on the Rockets under former president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, who is now Philadelphia’s top basketball executive.

Some around the league have wondered whether the Sixers and Harden already have a future deal in place, which is against the rules of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Such a handshake agreement would involve declining his player option in 2023 and signing a lucrative new contract at that time.

Marc Stein first reported that the Sixers were likely to face a tampering investigation, and he was also one of the first reporters to link Tucker to Philadelphia, with rival teams reportedly convinced that Tucker was signing a three-year deal for the mid-level multiple days before free agency officially opened.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link), the NBA and the Players Association are expected to discuss tampering and the punishments that teams face when found guilty, as early free agent discussions are “rampant, but hard to police and largely impossible to eliminate.” The two sides are currently in early negotiations for a new CBA.

Atlantic Notes: Grimes, Reddish, J. Harris, Harden, Sixers

October 21st, 2022 at 10:02am CST by Luke Adams

After Knicks guard Quentin Grimes aggravated his left foot injury during last Friday’s preseason finale, the team doesn’t intend to bring him back until he’s fully pain-free in that foot and not at risk of re-aggravating the injury, writes Ian Begley of SNY.tv.

“He’s got to be able to sustain it,” Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said. “So if he ramps it up and there’s anything there, it’s basically day-to-day. So just follow the protocol and plan that the trainers have laid out.”

With Grimes out of the rotation, Cam Reddish got an opportunity to play a bigger role in the Knicks’ opener on Wednesday and took full advantage, scoring 22 points off the bench, as Begley details in another SNY.tv. story. It was hugely important performance for Reddish, who is in a contract year and didn’t impress in the preseason.

As Begley observes, Reddish will presumably be given an opportunity to solidify a rotation spot for as long as Grimes remains out. If Reddish continues to play well and Grimes is cleared to play, it will be interesting to see whose rotation spot might be at risk, since the Knicks won’t want to sit Grimes, a Thibodeau favorite.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

Nets sharpshooter Joe Harris will be available on Friday for the first time in nearly a year. Harris, who underwent two ankle surgeries last season and missed this season’s opener due to foot soreness, said he’ll play tonight after being listed as probable, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post. The veteran forward last played a regular season game on November 14, 2021.
After a “workaholic” summer in the gym, Sixers star James Harden feels rejuvenated, he told reporters on Thursday, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Hampered by a hamstring issue last season, Harden has looked like his old self after signing a new contract with Philadelphia this summer, averaging 33.0 PPG, 8.0 APG, and 8.0 RPG on 57.9% shooting in two games against tough defenses (Boston and Milwaukee).
As expected, Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin has sold his 10% stake in the Sixers, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who says that 76 Devcorp chairman David Adelman bought a “substantial” share of that stake. Adelman’s real estate development company is working on a plan to build a new 76ers arena in downtown Philadelphia, Wojnarowski adds.

Atlantic Notes: Harden, Melton, Raptors, G. Williams

October 11th, 2022 at 10:11am CST by Luke Adams

Asked by Joe Vardon of The Athletic if he believes he’s gotten the proper credit for taking a pay cut this season in order to allow the Sixers to sign other players, including P.J. Tucker and Danuel House, James Harden shook his head.

“Nope, but guess what? I don’t care,” Harden said. “There’s like a stereotype (of Harden) where people always want to talk. People don’t really know me, so they feel like they can just say anything. One thing I won’t do is give them any attention. I won’t say anything, media-wise, publicly. I don’t care, because I’m comfortable and I’m confident in the things I do on and off the court.”

Harden turned down a player option worth more than $47MM and accepted a $33MM salary for 2022/23, with a player option worth $35.64MM for ’23/24. Having sacrificed some short-term money for the good of the team, the former MVP told Vardon he intends to take the same approach with his on-court statistics this season.

“At this point, (big) numbers are great, but whether I’m averaging 22 or 28 (points per game), I think it’s more that I’m making an impact on the game each and every night,” Harden said. “I don’t really think about numbers. I don’t think I’ve ever thought about numbers, honestly. … Ultimately, it’s winning a championship. The numbers don’t really mean anything, individually.”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

De’Anthony Melton is looking forward to showing what he can bring this season to the Sixers and is grateful that Grizzlies head of basketball operations Zach Kleiman traded him to a favorable landing spot, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “Zach and I have a good relationship to where I know he wouldn’t send me to a bad situation,” Melton said. “He wouldn’t do anything that he doesn’t feel like is a good situation for his organization and for me. You don’t get that in a lot of GMs. So that’s why the care factor was there. I could be wrong. I could be right, but that’s what I felt, given the situation.”
Dalano Banton‘s place on the Raptors‘ regular season roster looks increasingly secure after another solid performance vs. Chicago on Sunday, but the team’s 15th spot remains very much up in the air, says Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. As Grange notes, Justin Champagnie got a late start to the preseason, but hasn’t fallen far behind in the battle for the No. 15 spot, since none of D.J. Wilson, Josh Jackson, and Gabe Brown have run away with it.
In a mailbag for NBC Sports Boston, Chris Forsberg makes a case for why the Celtics and Grant Williams should be able to get a rookie scale extension done before next Monday’s deadline, arguing that a deal in the range of $12-13MM per year would allow Williams to earn more than the mid-level and let the team lock up another member of its core.

Sixers Notes: Harden, Rivers, Simmons, Tucker

October 3rd, 2022 at 11:58am CST by Arthur Hill

James Harden had encouraging news for Sixers fans as the team wrapped up its training camp, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Harden put up decent numbers after being acquired from the Nets in February, but he was obviously lacking the explosiveness that made him a perennial MVP candidate in Houston. Harden, who blamed a hamstring injury for slowing him down last season, responded, “It’s getting there” when asked about his current condition.

“We’re playing with a full training camp,” he said. “So there’s times and periods that you have dead legs or rough legs. But those are the times when you’ve just got to push through it, those character things like that.”

The Sixers will need a return of vintage Harden to be contenders in a rugged Eastern Conference. He welcomes the opportunity of a full preseason to learn the team’s system after having a crash course in 21 games after the trade. Harden is accomplished as both a scorer and passer, and he’s figuring out the best ways to bring both skills to the Sixers.

“But now, it’s a little bit more different,” he said. “Different because of the time (this summer) I had off to prepare and get my mind and my body right. And it’s just an opportunity with the new people that we have. And, honestly, just the communication with myself and (coach Doc Rivers) and Joel (Embiid) to know when it’s time for me to be aggressive and for Joel to be aggressive.”

There’s more from Philadelphia:

Rivers had little to say about Ben Simmons, who is expected to make his Nets debut tonight in a preseason game against the Sixers, Pompey states in a separate story. Simmons hasn’t played since Philadelphia was eliminated in the 2021 playoffs, and he had a bitter public battle with the organization before being traded to Brooklyn. “We’re focused on the guys that want to be a Philadelphia 76er,” Rivers said when asked about facing Simmons. “We’re not going to focus on anyone that doesn’t want to be one.”
Rivers plans to hold out at least three of his starters for tonight’s game, Pompey adds in another piece.
One of the focuses in training camp was becoming more aggressive defensively, per Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Joel Embiid has said he wants the Sixers to be the league’s best defensive team, and the offseason additions of P.J. Tucker, De’Anthony Melton, Montrezl Harrell and Danuel House were all made with defense in mind. “I know what it takes to get it done on a nightly basis in the league [and] playoffs,” Tucker said. “It’s tough and it comes down, a lot of times, to communication when plays break down on defense. You’ve got to make stuff happen, and it’s by communication. … You set those expectations right now in the preseason.”

Sixers Notes: Tucker, Harden, Petrusev, Embiid

September 26th, 2022 at 4:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Sixers’ major free agent acquisition this summer, veteran forward P.J. Tucker, had an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee, according to a team press release. He’s already been cleared for on-court work and will participate in the team’s training camp in Charleston, South Carolina.

The procedure took just 10 minutes, Gina Mizell of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. Tucker clarified on Monday that the procedure was done six weeks ago, adding that he’s “back on the court and doing everything,” Derek Bodner of The Daily Six newsletter tweets.

We have more on the Sixers as they begin training camp:

Tucker said that he and James Harden were hoping to land Philadelphia sooner, Kyle Neubeck of The Philly Voice tweets. “Honestly, me and James were trying to come the year before,” Tucker said, presumably referring when both players suited up for the Rockets after Daryl Morey became Philly’s top executive. Harden was instead dealt to Brooklyn before he wound up with the Sixers last year with Ben Simmons landing with the Nets.
Draft-and-stash big man Filip Petrusev will spend at least another year in Europe, playing in his native Serbia after signing with Crvena Zvezda, as previously reported. According to Eurohoops.net, Petrusev is on board with the “plan” the Sixers have for him. “They supported it,” the No. 50 pick of the 2021 draft said in an interview with Mozzart Sport. “The EuroLeague is the highest level of competition in Europe and that’s where I’ll definitely develop the most.”
Joel Embiid said the team’s main goal this regular season is becoming a defensive force, Neubeck writes. “Our focus is on defense,” Embiid said. “We aim to be the best defensive team in the league, that’s going to take all of us.”
Harden says he’s happier and healthier after dealing with a nagging hamstring injury last offseason, Neubeck adds. “Mentally, it was very, very difficult to me, just because I was in love with the game of basketball. … It was very difficult, a lot of tough times, dark moments, which I’ve never really went through because I was always healthy and playing the game of basketball. But I’m in a really good space right now, and I feel like I’m back to where I needed to be, where I’m supposed to be.”