James Harden’s three most important quotes and what they reveal about the ongoing Sixers saga

James Harden finally broke his silence following the 76ers’ practice Friday, speaking publicly for the first time since his brief holdout following an unfulfilled summer trade request (and to the Philly media corps for the first time since last spring’s season-ending Game 7 loss at the Boston Celtics).

There are still a bevy of questions swirling around this saga, and how it reaches resolution. But let’s squeeze as much as we can out of Harden’s seven-minute availability. Here are the three most important things he said, what they unveil about his perspective, and how things could proceed from here.

The most emphatic word of Harden’s most revealing answer was “no,” when he was asked if his relationship with the Sixers’ front office (more specifically, with president of basketball operations Daryl Morey) could be repaired.

Harden said that what was once “constant communication” with Morey throughout their decade-long partnership in Houston and Philly shifted to “no communication” following the Sixers’ playoff exit in May.

Harden had a decision to make by June 29: exercise his $35.6 million player option for the 2023-24 season, or decline it and become a free agent. Teams and players technically are not allowed to negotiate new deals before the night of June 30, and the Sixers were dinged with a tampering punishment for early talks the previous summer with P.J. Tucker and Danuel House Jr. (two former Harden teammates with the Rockets).

» READ MORE: James Harden lost trust in Sixers front office and doesn’t believe relationship can be mended

So it’s possible the Sixers were making a concerted effort to operate above board this time around. But Harden clearly felt jilted by that approach — and by the apparent realization that the Sixers would not offer him the long-term, max-level deal that he desired. The Sixers were not willing to hinder their short- or long-term future on a hefty deal for Harden, the 34-year-old who put up excellent numbers during the 2022-23 regular season but sputtered again in the playoffs.

“I wanted to be here and retire a Sixer,” Harden said. “The front office didn’t have that in their future plans. It’s literally out of my control. It’s something that I didn’t want to happen, to be in this position, but I’ve got to make a decision for my family. I understand this is a business. It’s just as simple as that.”

That’s not all entirely believable, or true. Reports surfaced last Christmas morning — then hovered throughout the rest of the season — that Harden was exploring returning to Houston, where he became an MVP and still has a home and many personal roots. When interest from the Rockets reportedly dissipated leading into free agency — they instead signed former Raptors point guard Fred VanVleet to a three-year, max deal after hiring Ime Udoka as head coach — Harden lost leverage.

And he did choose to opt into the final year of his deal, to take that guaranteed payday. That was in his control. On Friday, Harden was not asked why he made that decision.

Public comments from teammates and new coach Nick Nurse, as well as observations from sources around the Sixers, have overwhelmingly described Harden as engaged and productive in practice. That’s a sign that he (and everybody) is currently able to compartmentalize and, so far, prevent a massive distraction.

But Harden has not yet played in a preseason game, saying Friday that he is “still ramping up, trying to get myself in the best shape.” He suggested he would not play Monday at the Brooklyn Nets, but hoped to be ready by next Friday’s final exhibition against the Atlanta Hawks.

“I feel really, really good,” Harden said. “But there’s another level I feel like I can get to and am going to get to. … [I will] try to play the last one, just to get myself in game situations and get used to the physicality of defenders bumping you and the speed and tempo, all that good stuff. I think we have a good plan in place.”

Harden said his decision to join the Sixers in Fort Collins, Colo., after missing last Monday’s media day and their first training-camp practice at Colorado State, resulted from discussions between his representatives and the team — and after passing physicals required to take the floor.

Harden was not asked if he could envision a scenario that would cause him to flip this initial approach, to instead make things “uncomfortable” as he suggested in a summer Instagram post. Morey, meanwhile, has been steadfast on waiting until a deal he deems satisfactory emerges, which might not occur until closer to the February trade deadline.

“I work my butt off,” Harden said. “You can say whatever you want to say about me, but you don’t get this far in this league without putting work in. That’s what I [hang] my hat on. So when things fail or things don’t go how you feel they should go, you just continue to work, and that’s it.”

Another indicator that Harden has not taken his frustration out on those uninvolved? He had high praise for Nurse.

Harden has been familiar with Nurse since he was the coach of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets’ G League affiliate. And Harden described “impressive” conversations in recent weeks about Nurse’s free-flowing offensive style.

“It’s more spacing, more opportunities for everyone, and just unpredictable,” Harden said. “He literally can change things up on the fly … which is very difficult to do, but he’s very, very good at that.”

» READ MORE: Former Sixers coach Doc Rivers’ advice to James Harden: ‘Just play and it will work out’

Should Harden play for the Sixers this season, it will be interesting to monitor how that overall philosophy meshes with Harden’s iso-heavy reputation with the ball in his hands.

Yet those comments about Nurse come a few months after describing his relationship with former coach Doc Rivers as “OK” two days before he was fired.