James Harden skips another practice; Sixers don’t expect him to play in preseason finale

James Harden remains a no-show.

The disgruntled 76ers point guard missed his second consecutive day of practice Thursday. The Sixers are saying he is away from the team for a personal matter. There are reports that Harden is in Houston attending to his ailing mother.

However, he is frustrated that the Sixers that Sixers haven’t progressed in trade talks with the Clippers. A league source said Wednesday that Harden has been in Houston since traveling there following Sunday’s practice at the Sixers practice facility in Camden.

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“I think the organization has made it clear what’s going on,” coach Nick Nurse said. “They are working on stuff, as we say, day by day.

“We had a really good practice today. Very energetic, the guys that were here. And that’s what we are focused on.”

Harden’s absence has been the elephant in the room.

His second missed day changed Nurse’s stance about the standout guard making his preseason debut in Friday’s exhibition finale against the Hawks at the Wells Fargo Center.

“Yeah, I think it’s unlikely that he will play [Friday],” Nurse said. “But again, you never know what [Friday] morning may bring.”

Harden’s second consecutive absence isn’t surprising.

Cynics believe the 34-year-old was with the team for 12 days because he expected to be traded. They always felt he would try to make things uncomfortable for the organization if a trade didn’t appear in the works.

A source confirmed a report that the Sixers and Clippers had trade discussions on Monday. The Sixers were willing to give up Harden for an unprotected first-round pick, a first-round pick swap, Clippers reserve Terance Mann, and other players to match Harden’s $35.6 million salary.

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The Clippers wouldn’t include Mann, who sources have said is untouchable. As a result, no deal was made.

After missing media day and the first day of training camp, Harden had taken on a businesslike approach since arriving in Fort Collins, Colo., for practice. He had been great with teammates and often was one of the last players to leave the gym.

Recently appearing on The Old Man and the Three podcast, Tyrese Maxey said Harden didn’t make things weird after joining the team. He noted that his teammate was receptive and did all the drills.

Then came Harden’s no-shows Wednesday and Thursday. Maxey was asked if he was shocked that Harden wasn’t there. The combination guard didn’t directly answer the question.

“It’s personal stuff that he has,” Maxey said. “We [are] just focusing on who’s here right now. You know what I mean? We’ve got a game in [seven days] … That’s what I’m focusing on right now. We are trying to focus on getting better every single day. Whoever’s in the gym, we’ve got a game [against the Bucks on Oct. 26] We’ve got a job to do. And people that [are] here, we’ll focus on them.”

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According to the collective bargaining agreement, any player who “withholds playing services for more than 30 days after the start of the last season covered by his contract” could be deemed to have violated his contract and forbidden from entering free agency and signing with another team until the team he last played for “expressly agrees otherwise.”

Appearing on The Carton Show on Fox Sports, NBA commissioner Adam Silver was asked if he expects the Harden situation to be resolved soon.

“You want guys to honor their contracts,” Silver said. “This isn’t a new issue in the league. James … there’s no doubt that he’s an emotional guy.”

While the Sixers maintain it has not been a major distraction, Harden’s situation has the potential to become one.

Nurse has been answering questions about Harden since media day Oct. 2. And he basically has given the same response.

“I’m OK,” he said of being asked daily questions about Harden. “I get it. I get it. It’s a thing right here. But again, I give you the same answers. I don’t really like giving you guys the same answers all the time.

“But I think you guys all understand this a team. We are trying to prepare it the best we can. That’s what we’ll do. We are working really hard.”