James Harden scrimmages with the Sixers, but his status for their preseason opener remains unclear

BOSTON — In the wake of James Harden ending his holdout, the consensus from the national media was that he would make things uncomfortable for the 76ers.

While that could change, it hasn’t been the case during practice.

Harden even scrimmaged for the first time this preseason during Saturday’s practice at Emerson College. His status for Sunday’s 6 p.m. exhibition opener at the Celtics has yet to be determined, according to coach Nick Nurse.

The one thing that’s certain is that if Harden ever plays again in a Sixers uniform, he doesn’t have any collective beef with his teammates, coaches, or staff members. His problem is with Daryl Morey, the Sixers’ president of basketball operations.

Time will tell if Harden and Morey will ever resolve their differences or if the point guard will get traded, preferably to his hometown Clippers.

» READ MORE: Sixers’ James Harden: ‘Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of’

But for now, he’s providing a positive presence at practice and is putting in work during post-practice shooting drills with Tyrese Maxey. And the 34-year-old appears to be having fun.

Sunday was his second consecutive day of full participatiion. But this one is more noteworthy since the Sixers didn’t scrimmage during Friday’s final day of training camp at Colorado State University.

Saturday was Harden’s fourth day with his teammates after missing Monday’s media and Tuesday’s first day of training camp.

Asked if Harden ran with the starters during the scrimmage, Nurse said he mixed up the lineups.

“I see Joel [Embiid] and James were on the same team probably with a group of guys that probably weren’t starters, wouldn’t be starters, normally,” Nurse said. “That’s how the teams ended up today.

“But just mixing it up, looking at different teams.”

Nurse and his assistants know they have some roster decisions to make.

Danny Green is trying to earn a contract. The veteran forward will make a guaranteed $500,000 if he’s on the opening-day roster. His guaranteed money would increase to $750,000 by remaining on the team by Nov. 24 and $1.3 million by Dec. 24. Green’s contract will be fully guaranteed at $3.1 million if he’s on the team as of Jan. 10, the date that all NBA contracts become fully guaranteed.

» READ MORE: Source: Clippers’ pick-swap plan doesn’t move needle for Sixers in James Harden negotiations

Meanwhile, rookie forward/center Filip Petrušev signed a two-year, partially guaranteed $3 million contract. He has a deal for $1.1 million this season with $559,782 guaranteed. Next season’s $1.8 million is nonguaranteed.

The final roster spot could come down to Green and Petrušev, the only players with standard contracts without a fully guaranteed salary.

“In the wing position, you got Daniel House; you got Furkan [Korkmaz],” Nurse said. “Now you got [Kelly] Oubre, you got Tobias [Harris]. You know there’s a lot of guys there. I’m probably missing somebody.

“Then you got another section, positionally with [Patrick Beverley] being added to the roster. Where does he fit in the rotation? So a lot of guys.”

Nurse initially appeared unsure about the starting power-forward position. He noted that P.J. Tucker and Harris, a versatile forward, play there.

“I think they both probably get a strong look at that,” Nurse. “It just depends on which way we want to go and how it turns out.”

But there’s a high probability that they both start, the coach said. In that scenario, the position title won’t matter.

“You match them [by] who they’re going to guard,” he said. “They both kind of guard wings. They both guard up, because of their stretch fours, bigger fours.”

The Sixers intend to put them in “trigger spots” where they’ll be involved in ball handling, swinging the ball, setting screens, and dribble handoffs.

“So,” Nurse said, “we have to figure that out.”

In regards to Sunday night’s player availability, it’s a wait-and-see.

» READ MORE: James Harden participates fully in practice on the Sixers’ final day of training camp

“They all did go today, and we used it as our real hard training day today,” Nurse said of Saturday’s practice. “That doesn’t mean that they’re going to be ready to go tomorrow. But I’ll check with Simon [Rice, the Sixers’ vice president of athletic care].

“I think we’ll let them get through this treatment here today. See how they feel tomorrow and we’ll make a decision tomorrow.”

But Harden still seeks a trade, and his hometown Clippers are trying to put a package together to acquire him.

His relationship with Morey has deteriorated.

Yet, at least for the time being, he’s appeared to enjoy his interactions with teammates and coaches.