James Harden Told Not To Travel With Sixers Ahead Of Season Opener

PHILADLEPHIA, PA — The Sixers are just hours away from attempting to avenge the dissapointing end to the 2023 season and to make another run at the NBA Finals, but the starting five on the hardwood in Milwaukee Thursday night won't include embattled former MVP James Harden.

Harden, who has courted or been courted by controversy with every club he's for which he's played for four years running, was told by the Sixers not to join the team on their road trip for opening night, according to The Athletic's NBA insider Shams Charania.

Harden has been demanding a trade throughout the offseason due in large part to disagreements with team president Daryl Morey. He has largely showed up for practice and most, but not all team events through the summer and early fall. Reports indiciate that he returned to Philadelphia on Tuesday expecting to travel with the Sixers on Thursday, but the team told him to stay put.

Harden is in the midst of his "ramp-up process" leading into the season, so it's doubtful he was going to play in opener at all. But the Sixers asking him not to come on the trip suggests they may not consider him a part of the team moving forward.

Harden reportedly intends on holding firm in his demands for a trade. The off court drama and the lack of Harden's on-court presence are all too reminiscent for Sixers fans of the Ben Simmons scandal of a few years ago, when their homegrown star soured his relationship with the city and then refused to play in a months-long back and forth carousel of conceits and excuses from both sides. It only ended when the Sixers shipped Simmons to the Brooklyn Nets to get Harden in one of the league's biggest blockbusters in years.

"A source close to (Harden) basically said: ‘don’t mistake his kindness for weakness,'" ESPN's Ramona Shelburne said this week. "He is a guy who has shown up, tried to be professional throughout this, but that was only to give them time to negotiate a trade.“

The Sixers were minutes away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals last year for the first time in the Joel Embiid era. The Boston Celtics staged a Game 6 comeback and sealed the deal with a Game 7 blowout, stunning a Philly team that boasted arguably the best ever supporting cast for Embiid. For all the drama, Harden led the NBA in assists in 2022-23, and fueled Embiid's first MVP award.

Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m. Thursday night in Milwaukee.

Catch up on the latest Patch coverage in the Harden saga:

James Harden Avoids Sixers Media Day, Demanding Trade: Reports

James Harden Says Sixer GM 'Daryl Morey Is A Liar,' Won't Play For Him

James Harden Fined $100K By NBA For Calling Sixers President A 'Liar'

James Harden Declines Option, Now Free Agent: What It Means For Sixers