Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse told NBA reporters that James Harden, who was finally traded to the Los Angeles Clippers this week, was very professional and looked great during practices despite requesting a trade.
Nurse never got to coach Harden, but the former Toronto Raptors coach didn’t have anything negative to say about The Beard.
The Sixers can finally move on from the Harden trade drama and focus on basketball. Philadelphia acquired Marcus Morris, Robert Covington, Nicolas Batum and Kenyon Martin Jr. from Los Angeles.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Nick Nurse, James Harden, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Clippers Updates
Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey are now the two best players on the Sixers. Nurse has gotten his new team off to an impressive 3-1 start. Philadelphia is averaging 117.8 points and giving up 105.5 points. The Sixers are a top-10 offensive and defense unit thus far.
In 79 games with the Sixers, Harden averaged 21.0 points and 10.6 assists. The 10-time All-Star requested a trade due to how president Daryl Morey handled his potential free agency this past offseason. The Sixers lost to the Miami Heat in the second round of the 2022 playoffs and fell to the Boston Celtics in the second round of the 2023 playoffs.
The Sixers would like to use the assets they acquired from the Clippers in the Harden deal to trade for another star. The team will monitor Zach LaVine, OG Anunoby, Donovan Mitchell and Bojan Bogdanovic as potential trade targets, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Nick Nurse, James Harden, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Clippers Updates
The Sixers are going to be aggressive to try and upgrade this roster either this season or next offseason. Philadelphia projects to have $55.7 million in cap space available next offseason. The team also has seven first-round draft picks from 2024 to 2029.
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