James Harden continues to face an uncertain future with the 76ers as the veteran guard looks to force a move away from the franchise.
Following Harden’s viral tirade against Philadelphia’s president of basketball operations, Daryl Morey, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported Tuesday that this situation figures to get uglier before it begins to improve.
Speaking on ESPN’s NBA Today, Shelburne offered the latest on Harden’s plans ahead of 76ers’ training camp, indicating the 33-year-old wants to “make life very uncomfortable” for the franchise.
“Somebody said to me yesterday, ‘This is only the beginning. This is just the beginning of what James Harden is going to do to make life very uncomfortable for the Philadelphia 76ers going into training camp,’” Shelburne said.
Ramona Shelburne: "Somebody said to me yesterday, 'This is only the beginning. This is just the beginning of what James Harden is going to do to make life very uncomfortable for the Philadelphia 76ers going into training camp.'"
— Oh no he didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) August 15, 2023
Philly; Sixers pic.twitter.com/ZJUUmqvZyR
Shelburne went on to indicate that Harden’s holdout situation figures to play out much differently than that of Ben Simmons, who left money on the table when he didn’t report to Sixers’ camp in 2021, but was not publicly bashing the team’s president.
Harden’s comments went viral in August after a video showed him at an Adidas Event in Beijing calling Morey “a liar” and indicating that he’d “never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of in the NBA.”
Those comments came after he was asked about an ESPN report which stated the 76ers did not plan to honor Harden’s trade request, despite Morey saying previously that the organization planned to work with Harden on.
Now, the situation has escalated and Harden is not even attempting to hide his frustrations, suggesting the dispute could escalate further still.
