2023-2024 Sixers Season

[dicemen99]

Harden will never realize he has nowhere to go but the Sixers with Oubre on the team.

Morey made sure of that when he made that signing and likely made Harden more receptive to teams other than the Clippers. He knows he can't sit out or he'll forfeit his pay and his path to free agency, and hell will freeze over before he puts on the same uniform as Oubre.

Fairly brilliant richard-head move by Morey.

[xogfog]

What’s the deal between Harden and Oubre, some kind of personal history? They don’t play the same position, so no conflict there.

Never mind, I looked it up. For others who may not know, it goes something like this;

Oubre grew up in the Houston area and was a fan of Harden. Harden threw a party and Oubre was there and eventually left the party with Harden’s girlfriend. Now, what makes it interesting is that Oubre married her and has children with her.

It sounds like a bit of a non-story, obviously the girl and Harden were probably not that serious and in the time since he’s probably been with countless other women, so I doubt he would still be holding a grudge, especially since they are married with children. If Harden is a grown up, it’s nothing that couldn’t be resolved with a short discussion.

[phillychuck]

If Harden is a grown up,

Socially? That's a big if...

[zambonir]

Ha definitely a big if.

Sure, normally something like that could be water under the bridge. But since he's already publicly burned his bridges (and is still doing so I believe) and likely perceived Morey signed Oubre on purpose to annoy him, it probably is an issue. Not one that can't be resolved if there are no other issues. But there are other issues.

I just figure Harden gets traded in December at the deadline not now. Though I also reckon the Sixers will also do anything to get Jrue (well, short of Maxey) but do they have enough. And who even wants Harden?

Seems like it would be really hard for anyone to trade for Jrue directly. Easiest for the Sixers (but obviously Portland wouldn't keep Harden so that becomes a three-way deal anyway).

[zambonir]

It's wild that baseball players don't get paid until Opening Day and just get a check every two weeks like everybody else during the season. Versus this in the NBA:

Harden was paid 25% of his contract on Friday after he previously received 25% on July 1, according to ESPN.

Where does James Harden stand with the Sixers? Daryl Morey, Joel Embiid weigh in...

[bkeich]

I can’t wait to see him making absolutely no effort on the court. This might be the death bell for this team this season.

Harden, after 2-day absence, joins Sixers' camp

[zambonir]

Who knows. It's not like they aren't ready for it (both with the Sixers' Ben experience and Morey's Houston experience). And Nurse seems like a no-nonsense guy. The biggest problem, at least for now, is that most of his teammates are actually on his side. They both want him back (for obvious reasons) and support his right to want out (ditto).

One way or another it will work itself out. Even with James - or anything they get for him -Sixers certainly don't seem like a top 3 team in the conference - but the roster they open with certainly won't the same at either Christmas, the deadline or both.

The only question is will they have wasted one of Joel's precious remaining seasons in Philadelphia, or will they have wasted the final one.

[xogfog]

Well, the sad thing about Joel's career is that there has been no stability to it, they keep blowing up the team around him, let alone the coaches. Whatever happens this year, they will be doing it again next year as they are loaded with expiring contracts in the hopes of signing some big free agents next year.

[zambonir]

Well, yeah. There are two common denominators with the Sixers in the Process era. He is not the one that is to blame the most (that would be ownership). But he's still one of them.

Nor is it his fault his GMs and coaches haven't figured out the right mix around him (and made so many mistakes in doing so, both in terms of picking the wrong players in general and picking the wrong players to fit with Joel). But there have been limitations that are on him (be they work ethic, health, or the way he plays) as well. Especially in the playoffs.

I hope we get an Embiid-Maxey-whomever era before he's gone, but we shall see.

[xogfog]

Embiid announced that he will play for the US in the Olympics. Should be a fun team to watch if all the stars play.

[phillychuck]

Adebayo playing for team USA, too. Their lack of big men at the World Games seems remedied.

[zambonir]

A curse on the Phillies for not letting us ignore the Sixers for another two weeks.

James Harden returns to practice but will not travel with Sixers for season...

[phillychuck]

Sixers without Harden should be more aesthetically pleasing to watch. I don't expect them to do well against the Bucks or Celtics early, but they might be pretty scrappy...

[zambonir]

I dunno he and Joel were pretty aesthetically pleasing to watch last season. Just not in the playoffs.

Hard to tell what's really going on here, if both sides really expect to work him into the line-up (as the team is publicly stating) or if the Sixers think they can still pull off a trade or if some combination of awkward detente/outright ugliness continues until Christmas.

It will be fun to see the other players take on increased and different roles. But the unpleasant reality of either Joel leaving or the Sixers never winning anything with him continues to linger.

[phillychuck]

z, I disagree with you about the aesthetics of Harden/Embiid. Sometimes they would run the pick-and-pop game at the elbow and it was clever and effective, but Harden is the ultimate ball-stopper and coach killer--he refused to go off-ball and take a catch-and-shoot spot, even when it would help the team, he walked the ball up the court leading to the slowest pace in the league, and his idea of "good offense" was to yoyo the ball for 10 seconds and take a step-back 3 or to drive and grift for fouls. Even when he was in his prime he was awful to watch. And don't even open your eyes when he was on the defensive end of the court.

Embiid is somewhat of a ball-stopper, too, but so are most big guys, except Jokic. TWO ball stoppers on the offensive end of the court was painful. I think if they trade Harden for something in the ballpark of his perceived value they won't be contenders, but they will be more cohesive, more unselfish, and scappier. I can get behind a team like that.

Long live Maxey...

[zambonir]

Maxey is certainly more fun, but as you note, Joel can't play that way either. And defense the same issue.

We shall see.

[bkox]

This is getting uglier

Following practice, Harden arrived at the airport ready to join the team on its flight to Milwaukee ahead of Thursday's opener against the Bucks, but a security official denied him entry to the team's plane, according to Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report.

James Harden reportedly stopped from boarding 76ers' plane, will stay home for...

[zambonir]

I mean it was already ugly, both sides are playing games. If Harden holds out he starts losing salary, but Sixers probably should have just suspended him for missing the last 10 days, or at least fined him for missing the pre-season games (as they did with Ben). Harden must actually be afraid the Sixers will just let him hold out and exercise their leverage (not to pay him/to keep him from signing with another team next year) while the Sixers don't really want him to be part of the team if he's not willing to play nice consider being there the entire season (or at least until the deadline).

[bkeich]

Harden has almost no leverage, which has been true from day 1 of this foolishness. He clearly doesn’t understand that he just does not have the Superstar value he once had. He is a guy who can do some things on a court, but he is a defensive liability and has a tendency to crash a game when he is not “on”. Add his constant “i want out of this team” every 2-3 seasons and rwally no team wants him in more than a 1 year deal.

[zambonir]

No idea what his end game is, but he gets paid what he gets paid this year, and he'll eventually get himself to another team. His leverage is that no other team but the Clippers want him for all the reasons you mention. His leverage is that the Sixers want more value for him than he's worth if you see him that way. His leverage is that the Sixers failed to see him that way despite his flaws as both a player and a person being obvious (and, you would have thought, more obvious to Morey than anyone, except it seemed to be the opposite). Which means the Sixers only choice is to keep playing chicken with the Clippers or keep playing chicken with Harden.

But things will change as the various dates on the trade calendar roll along.