James Harden has reportedly missed his first practice session of Sixers training camp. Shams Charania broke the news, stating that Harden was not at practice Wednesday and had not been with the team since Sunday. Harden had already been training away from the main team group and had not attended preseason games. However, missing practice entirely is a new level of escalation. The news comes days after it was reported that the Sixers are once again no longer engaging with the Clippers and fully intend for Harden to start the season in Philly.
The missing of practice is something that experts have been surprised hasn't happened sooner with Harden. The veteran has something of a reputation for being disruptive during offseason activities when he is trying to force a trade. However, it is believed that rumors of renewed discussions between the Sixers and Clippers compelled Harden to put in a few weeks of good behavior.
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Harden Reiterates View On Sixers Relationship
However, the escalation should be all that surprising. Last week, Harden once again stated that he has no relationship with the Sixers front office and that his dispute with the team can only be resolved via trade. "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," Harden said at his first media appearance since the start of Sixers training camp. "When I got traded here, my whole thing is I wanted to retire a Sixer. I wanted to be here and retire a Sixer. And the front office didn’t have that in their future plans," Harden added while pointedly refuse to explicitly name President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey.
Harden does, however, like new head coach Nick Nurse. “Nick is very versatile. He’s a players’ coach. He understands it. I’ve known him a little bit; he was the G League coach in Houston. He’s obviously won a championship. He just sees the game different and I’m a fan of him," Harden said. On the topic of basketball, Harden said he would be playing this year, ruling out the possibility of a holdout. However, it's clear to everyone that Harden will not be happy if he's playing in Philly and not LA.
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