The Philadelphia 76ers got their wish when they traded for James Harden from the Brooklyn Nets before the NBA trade deadline last week. Harden is who Daryl Morey was hoping to land in a trade for Ben Simmons all along and while things got ugly a few times, each side ultimately got what they wanted.
Simmons got the trade he has been seeking since last summer. Morey got the All-Star to combine with Joel Embiid and Harden got traded for the second time in just over a year as he leaves a situation he didn’t want to be a part of.
During a recent press conference, Harden revealed that he had always wanted to end up with the 76ers. Even when things were going on with the Houston Rockets, Philadelphia is where he wanted to be, not Brooklyn.
His time in Brooklyn will always be filled with what-ifs. The Big 3 of Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving were dominant when they were on the court together, but that rarely occurred because of injuries and Irving being a part-time player as he remains unvaccinated.
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There are going to be plenty of people upset with how Harden handled things. If he wanted to be in Philadelphia so badly, he could have pushed the Rockets to send him there during the 2020-21 season instead of the Brooklyn Nets. His reputation has taken a hit in the last few years and suffered another blow before the most recent trade.
Neither Simmons nor Harden was on the court for their respective teams’ games leading up to the trade. Simmons has been away from the Philadelphia 76ers all season, working on his mental health. Harden developed a hand and hamstring injury, which led to some ugly performances, such as against the Sacramento Kings.
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However, some people believe James Harden quit on his team hoping to get traded. Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium shared that news on The Ringer NBA Show podcast on Spotify.
“He has a game in Sacramento where, you know, I think it’s fair to say there were people were within that locker room, within those confines were wondering, ‘Did he just quit on us?'” Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium said on The Ringer NBA Show podcast (23:28 mark). “And then he sits multiple games for a hamstring injury when, you know, there was no sign of a hamstring injury. There was a sign of the hand injury, but there was no hamstring.”
The game referenced against the Kings was back on February 2nd. It was the last game that Harden played in and his performance was abysmal. He scored four points, going 2-of-11 from the field and 0-for-5 from 3-point range, with seven rebounds and 12 assists.
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His shooting numbers took a nosedive once it was revealed that he had a hand injury, which caused him to miss a game against the Golden State Warriors. Hamstring injuries have plagued Harden during his time with the Brooklyn Nets, but as Charania points out, there was no sign of a hamstring injury before he started sitting out games.
There must have been some truth to that injury, as James Harden remains sidelined and won’t play with his new team until after the All-Star break. However, he seems elated to be in Philadelphia and is looking forward to helping the 76ers win a championship that has eluded him thus far in his career.
