James Harden won’t attend Sixers’ season opener, but he’ll be the hottest topic in Milwaukee

Despite dealing with the James Harden saga, the 76ers are taking a positive approach to this season.

“We’re good,” Tobias Harris said. “We are well prepared.”

That may be true.

But when Harden was in a good space and attending practice, the Sixers couldn’t get out of the second round of the playoffs the last two seasons.

With Harden’s future uncertain, the Sixers are expected to take a step back. And his saga is already a distraction.

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The disgruntled point guard, who’s seeking a trade, returned to practice Wednesday with the intent of accompanying the team on its season-opening, two-game road trip.

Nick Nurse will make his Sixers coaching debut Thursday night against the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum. On Saturday, the Sixers will face the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena in what will be a homecoming for Nurse. He spent a decade in the Toronto organization, the last five as head coach.

However, that and his Sixers debut against former Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin, Milwaukee’s new coach, weren’t hot topics at Wednesday’s practice.

It was Harden.

As much as the Sixers try to downplay it, Harden’s situation could turn into a mess. One that will become unbearable the longer the 34-year-old remains on the roster.

Nurse learned Tuesday night that Harden would rejoin the Sixers Wednesday after being absent since Oct. 15. The Sixers had said he was away dealing with a personal matter.

However, it’s no secret that he wants out and is frustrated that the Sixers haven’t progressed in trade talks with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Now that Harden’s back, there are several questions:

Will Harden continue to play nice like he did before leaving? If so, for how long? And is Nurse concerned that he’ll be disruptive?

“My concerns right now are really going to be focused on the game [Thursday] night,” Nurse said. “We put a lot into this, and we’re in a great space I think mentally and preparation-wise, all that stuff. That’s what I’ll continue to do.”

Despite planning to attend, Harden won’t accompany his teammates on the road trip. Instead, the Sixers have instructed him to stay behind to “ramp up” his conditioning at their practice facility.

It’s true that the Sixers have a state-of-the-art complex equipped with everything he needs. It’s also true that by staying home he’ll do on-court work with the Sixers’ two-way players and members of the Blue Coats.

Nurse said Harden’s readiness to play will be decided by Simon Rice, the Sixers’ vice president of athlete care, and his staff.

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“That’s part of the reason he’d be here,” the coach said. “We have all of the finest technology to figure out exactly where he’s at and where he can get to and all those kinds of things.”

But one has to wonder if the Sixers kept Harden home in an effort to avoid a potential distraction.

For now, they say the decision came because he needs to get “ramped up” to play after missing 10 days.

Asked how Harden took the news, Nurse said, “He is fine. He understands he’s got to get ramped up.”

But NBC Sports Philadelphia reported that Harden still showed up for the team flight to Milwaukee Wednesday afternoon even after previously agreeing not to go. The Sixers front office, once again, had to tell him to remain in the Philly area to work out at the facility.

Let’s see how this all plays out.

One would expect Harden to be on his best behavior at least in the beginning to prove his worth, hoping that the Clippers may improve their trade offer.

It would be wise to pay attention to how the Clippers and Sixers start the season. Will a slow start make one of the teams alter its demands for the sake of getting reinforcements?

» READ MORE: Sixers president Daryl Morey faces career-defining season as James Harden saga looms over his legacy

Right now, this is far from an ideal situation, especially for a team expected to lose relevance, at least until the saga is handled.

The Boston Celtics unveiled their revamped roster Wednesday against the New York Knicks. With the addition of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis in separate trades, the Celtics paired top-end talent with All-NBA wings Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

Add Derrick White and sixth man Al Horford to the mix and Boston has the NBA’s best one-through-six group. The Celtics also made upgrades to their coaching staff, adding former Sixers assistant Sam Cassell and former Milwaukee Bucks assistant Charles Lee to Joe Mazzulla’s bench.

The Celtics are expected to contend with Milwaukee for the conference title.

The Sixers will get a firsthand look at the somewhat new-look Bucks on Thursday. In addition to a new coaching staff, the Bucks also acquired All-NBA point guard Damian Lillard to pair with two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, three-time All-Star Khris Middleton, and Brook Lopez.

The Sixers players, meanwhile, have a lot to prove.

Some look to prove they can still play at a high level. Others want to prove that they’re worthy of lucrative contracts next summer. And a few want to prove they’re worthy of new opportunities.

“Everybody has something to prove individually and collectively, the whole team,” Harris said. “So it’s all about bringing all that together. But we’re ready. We’re poised, and we’re confident.”

But are they motivated by being counted out because of the Harden uncertainty and not matching the moves made by Boston and Milwaukee?

“Honestly, our motivation just comes from within as a group,” Harris said. “Not finishing the goal, and the taste last year, knowing that we still have a great group to make something happen and to be the best team that we can be.

“But the outside chatter and whatnot, every guy in here is motivated internally in some way or another for their own sake.”

They understand the best way to silence the chatter is to win games. They had great practices on Monday and Tuesday while Harden remained away.

“It was just a regular day for us,” Kelly Oubre said of Harden attending Wednesday’s practice. “We got in, started at 11. Nothing really shifted, nothing changed. Everything was what it was.

“We have a game to play [Thursday], and we’ve all been locked in and focused on that one goal.”

Oubre doesn’t think Harden’s appearance changed anything. He said that Wednesday was a great day and that the team got better.

But the mere fact that folks are more focused on his return than the season opener is a distraction that may only get worse.