James Harden returns to practice but will not travel with Sixers for season opener in Milwaukee

James Harden rejoined the 76ers for Wednesday’s practice, but will not travel to Milwaukee for Thursday’s season opener against the Bucks.

It’s the latest turn in an ongoing saga involving the disgruntled star point guard, who still wants to be traded and recently said his relationship with president of basketball operations Daryl Morey is irreparable.

Harden had been away from the Sixers since Oct. 15 for what the team described as a “personal reason.” He did not play in any of the Sixers’ four preseason games, after initially saying during his only recent media availability on Oct. 13 that he planned to be ready to take the floor for their exhibition finale last Friday against the Atlanta Hawks.

Sixers coach Nick Nurse said following Wednesday’s practice that Harden participated in portions at the beginning and end of the team session, but not game-plan work because “we had to get ready for our game tomorrow with the guys that are going to be playing.” Harden was not on the floor for the media viewing period at the end of practice, when he is often spotted going through extra work with teammates and staff.

The decision for Harden to stay behind in Philly, Nurse added, was so Harden could re-enter the “ramp-up phase” after being away from the team for 10 days. Harden will scrimmage and go through other on-court work with the Sixers’ staff, along with players on two-way contracts and from the G League’s Blue Coats who also will not make the trip. Nurse added vice president of athlete care Simon Rice and the medical staff spearheaded concocting the next steps for Harden, and that working out at the Sixers’ facility allows them to use the “finest technology to figure out exactly where he’s at and where he can get to [physically].”

“He is fine,” Nurse said when asked how Harden took the news. “He understands he needs to get ramped up. … He has to get back to playing live, full-court basketball.”

Harden also missed the Sixers’ media day on Oct. 2 and their first training camp practice in Fort Collins, Colo., the following day. He joined the team at Colorado State on Oct. 4 and was participating in portions of practices — and was engaged with teammates and staff, according to public accounts and private observations — until the team departed for an Oct. 16 preseason game at the Brooklyn Nets. Harden instead returned to Houston, where he makes his home following his tenure playing for the Rockets.

When Harden began skipping practices last week, however, a source told The Inquirer that the Sixers were “bracing for turbulence” based on his past actions when he wanted to leave the Houston Rockets in 2021 and the Brooklyn Nets in 2022. Nurse acknowledged again Wednesday that the Sixers are taking this saga day-by-day, and that expressing “confidence in anything in this situation” would be unwise.

“We can all sit around and guess and talk about that every day, and we really don’t know,” Nurse said. “I hate to keep saying, ‘Who knows what tonight’s going to bring, and tomorrow’s going to bring?’ all that kind of stuff with where we’re at on this.”

The Sixers, meanwhile, have proceeded as normally as possible while preparing for a season with a new coach, the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player in Joel Embiid and internal NBA championship aspirations.

When asked about Harden’s return, reserve forward Paul Reed said “it was good to see our brother again” and “hopefully he’s able to make more practices.” Newcomer Kelly Oubre Jr., meanwhile, called Wednesday’s practice “a regular day for us.”

“Nothing really shifted,” Oubre said. “Nothing changed. Everything was what it was. We have a game to play tomorrow, so we’ve all been locked in and focused on that one goal. Just going about everything being professional is the only way we can. So I wouldn’t even say that that affected anything. Today was a great day. We got better.”

Following Thursday’s opener, the Sixers play at the Toronto Raptors Saturday night before facing the Portland Trail Blazers in their home opener Sunday night.

Harden’s reappearance leading into the opener was reminiscent of two seasons ago, when Ben Simmons was present for two practices but got kicked out of the session the day the Sixers’ first game for refusing to partake in a defensive drill. Simmons never participated in team activities again, before getting traded to the Nets at the February deadline for, coincidentally, Harden.

Harden requested a trade in late June, after exercising his $35.6 million player option for the 2023-24 season. The Sixers — and presumably other teams, including the Rockets — were not willing to offer Harden a long-term, max-level contract as an unrestricted free agent. When a trade with his preferred destination, the Los Angeles Clippers, did not materialize at the beginning of the player transaction cycle, Harden called Morey “a liar” in August and vowed to never play for any organization he was a part of again. The NBA fined Harden $100,000 for those comments “indicating that he would not perform the services called for under his player contract unless traded to another team.”

Months later, the Sixers and Clippers remain in a stalemate on a potential deal. A source reiterated to The Inquirer last week that the Clippers are not willing to include up-and-coming guard Terance Mann in the package, which makes things a non-starter for the Sixers.

Morey has been adamant that he will only trade Harden for a star-caliber player who will help the Sixers maximize Embiid’s prime, or for assets they then can flip for that type of player. That Morey kept the holding-out Simmons on the roster until the 2022 trade deadline set a precedent that Morey is unwilling to waver on waiting for a deal he deems suitable.

Before the most recent turn in the Harden saga, a source said Morey is unlikely to allow Harden’s behavior to force his hand. If Harden became too disruptive, the source surmised, new coach Nick Nurse could bench Harden and let rising guard Tyrese Maxey fully take over as the primary ballhandler.

Still, some outsiders — especially in a passionate Philly market — remain vocally antsy to quickly cut ties with Harden, to make a trade now (even if it is less-than-satisfactory) to end any potential drama, distraction or irritation. The belief inside the organization, a source recently told The Inquirer, is that such a move would be too reckless to justify; that it would all but guarantee the Sixers drop to a lower tier, instead of maintaining hope that they could re-enter that category in 2023-24.

» READ MORE: Tyrese Maxey is ready for his moment, with or without James Harden

The Sixers waiting on a trade leaves room for other teams to reassess their roster once the season gets underway, based on injury, performance or other variables. One team may believe it needs to make a splashy move to course-correct or ignite fan interest, or that a player of Harden’s caliber could vault it to a title-challenging level (or relevance). On Dec. 15, most players that signed as free agents this past summer become eligible to be traded, broadening the scope for potential packages and multi-team deals.

The collective bargaining agreement’s new restrictions on high-spending teams — and that the Sixers could have max cap space for the 2024 offseason — also offer potential for better players to be available on the trade market, and for the Sixers to become a useful partner.

This approach also accounts for the fact that star players around the league are constantly evaluating their team environments and ask out when ready for change. This time two years ago, for instance, Harden had not yet turned disgruntled with the Nets. This time last year, Kevin Durant had reconciled with the Nets following a summer trade request — but then was sent to the Phoenix Suns at the deadline.

Harden led the NBA in assists last season (10.7 per game) while also adding 21 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. He is a 10-time All-Star and the 2018 MVP, but, at 34 years old, has lost some explosion while driving to the basket and sputtered at times during last spring’s playoffs.