Just one day after being a no-show at the Philadelphia 76ers’ Media Day, James Harden is reportedly planning on showing up to training camp, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. He also reports “it is not immediately clear how soon or whether Harden will participate in practices.”
ESPN Sources: Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden didn’t practice at Colorado State University on Tuesday but he’s expected to arrive in Colorado as soon as today to join training camp.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 3, 2023
Harden is in the midst of a multi-month standoff with Sixers’ president of basketball operations Daryl Morey. It was not clear if Harden was going to show up to the team’s training camp at Colorado State University. He is still trying to force a trade to the Los Angeles Clippers, although the talks stalled out in mid-August.
With Harden reportedly planning on showing up to training camp, the next question becomes in what manner will he participate? Will he be showing up to play or is his plan to just cause more trouble for the Sixers? According to prior reporting, the answer to those questions points in the direction of Harden causing issues. NBA TV’s Jared Greenberg reported on Monday afternoon the organization “would not be surprised” if Harden decided to appear at training camp and that they believe he will make it “painful” for them.
“While it is unclear what Harden’s next steps will be… one high-ranking official [said] that the #Sixers would not be surprised, in fact, they expect Harden to show up at some point and make it ‘painful’ for the organization.”
– @JaredSGreenberg (via @NBATV) pic.twitter.com/bvqqb7HwAI
— Philly Sixers Galaxy (@sixers_galaxy) October 2, 2023
Harden showing up to training camp is a small sign of progress for the Sixers. It is the very first sign of potential of the 34-year-old guard fulfilling his contractual obligations. However, it is unlikely he participates fully in team activities with no issue. According to head coach Nick Nurse, the team is prepared for either outcome.
“For me, it’s, it’s obviously we’ve kind of got Plan A, Plan B, right?” Nurse said at Media Day. “We’ve got to get the team ready regardless. We’re expecting him to show up. He shows up? We go. If he doesn’t? We go. There’s two ways to look at it. And we proceed and we really get to work in building our foundation of what we want to do, getting all our principles in, all the things that we want to do, and play the style of play we want to play regardless.”
The Sixers are holding their training camp through Friday at Colorado State. Their first preseason action is on Sunday Oct. 8 against the Boston Celtics.
