Getty Image / Tim Nwachukwu
James Harden has reportedly decided he’s open to being traded to somebody other than the LA Clippers.
The decision comes after the Philadelphia 76ers decided they aren’t trading him and he called the 76ers’ president of basketball operations a liar.
James Harden’s offseason hasn’t been what many expected.
He has spent more than a month trying to get the Philadelphia 76ers to trade him despite exercising his option with the team for the upcoming season and even after the team got rid of Doc Rivers in a move that was seemingly intended to convince him to stay.
Unfortunately, he still hasn’t been traded and the team recently decided they weren’t going to trade him anymore.
That seems to not be sitting too well with the former MVP as he publicly called Darryl Morey a liar yesterday.
Still, it looks like the 6ers’ decision to end Harden trade talks may have had the desired effect.
According to Hoops Wire’s Sam Amico, Harden is now open to being traded to more teams than just the Los Angeles Clippers, who had been his preferred destination so far.
James Harden Prefers Clippers, But Open to Other Destinations https://t.co/x9YhouHPpb
— Hoops Wire (@WireHoops) August 15, 2023
While Harden opening up to the possibility of being traded somewhere besides LA is definitely a positive for Harden’s pursuit of a trade and for the 76ers’ chances of getting a return they’ll be happy with.
However, there is still one big obstacle that will need to be overcome for the Philadelphia 76ers to actually end up trading James Harden. There doesn’t exactly seem to be an abundance of interest in James Harden this offseason.
Harden is going to be 34 years old before the end of the month and is no longer the same scorer he was at his peak with the Houston Rockets.
Add in the facts that Harden has been a defensive liability for much of his career and has had trouble committing to teams in recent years, and you’re looking at a player who carries some pretty significant risks with the upside of potentially being the second-best player on a contender.
Maybe his newfound openness will lead to him finding a new team, but right now it looks like things are going to get ugly in Philly while he waits to get what he wants.