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James Harden was forced to watch the 76ers open up their season on the road against the Bucks back in Philadelphia after the team made it clear he wasn’t allowed to join them for their season opener—a decision that may have landed the franchise in hot water with the NBA.
As you likely know, the NBA has been making a concerted effort to crack down on load management this season. Prior to the start of the campaign, the league supplemented previously existing rules designed to dissuade teams from allowing stars to rest with a new threshold that dictates players need to appear in a minimum of 65 games to be eligible for postseason awards.
The Philadelphia 76ers have spent the past few months butting heads with James Harden as a result of his high-profile fallout with Daryl Morey, and it looked like there was a chance the guard would refuse to play until he was granted the trade he made it very clear he wanted prior to opting into his player option.
He ultimately joined the team near the end of training camp and seems committed to playing despite the lingering tensions. However, his attempt to travel with the 76ers to Milwaukee for their first game of the season was rebuffed after he was denied access to the flight ferrying them to their faceoff with the Bucks.
The 76ers informed Harden they wanted him to stay in Philly to continue to work on his conditioning, but according to ESPN, they may have drawn the ire of the NBA in the process.
On Thursday, the league announced it will be taking a closer look at whether or not the franchise violated its load management policy by refusing to let the 10-time All-Star play in the nationally televised game, saying:
“We are looking into the facts around James Harden’s availability tonight to determine whether an approved reason exists for his lack of participation.”
As the outlet notes, players can only be granted an exemption if they’re injured or dealing with a personal issue, and teams who don’t put an eligible guy on the bench can be hit with a $100,000 fine for a first-time offense.