James Harden has put the Philadelphia 76ers in a tough spot after requesting a trade. The entire offseason was a race to see who blinks first. After Harden forced his way out of the Rockets and Nets, he applied the same strategy to force the Sixers to trade him away. He went on record calling Daryl Morey a ‘liar’ and even missed the team’s media day. Although he showed up for practice after throwing several tantrums, he missed out on the entire preseason.

While many predicted that The Beard would force his way out of the league if he kept up his modus operandi, ESPN NBA Insider recently shed light on Harden’s potential future with the Sixers.

James Harden’s future with the Sixers

James Harden requested a trade early on in the offseason and listed the LA Clippers as his favored destination. However, no deal has materialized since the Clippers refused to part ways with 27-year-old Terance Mann. ESPN journalist Adrian Wojnarowski recently revealed that Harden will consider retiring if the Sixers fail to land him a trade before the season opener. However, as per recent developments, it looks like the 34-year-old is ready to take the court alongside his former team. As per Woj, the point guard is back at the Sixers training facility to practice ahead of the NBA premiere against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday.

Until recently, James was away from the team on an excused absence. He was back in his hometown Houston to tend to his sick mother. While he has returned to the team’s practice facility, he will be missing the season opener against Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard at Fiserv Forum. As per reports, he will stay back in Philly to ramp up.

Joel Embiid could soon be sporting a new jersey

While disgruntled James Harden has settled for now, the Sixers have a larger problem on their hands. Joel Embiid recently expressed his frustration with the ongoing trade fiasco with James Harden, hinting at a potential exit. According to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Cameroonian center might take his championship aspirations somewhere else, seemingly to the Big Apple.

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Reportedly, the New York Knicks are willing to offer a mega deal to land Sixers franchise cornerstone Joel Embiid. The deal includes three key players between Julius Randle, R.J. Barrett, Evan Fournier, and Mitchell Robinson, and two or three first-round picks.

Although his early seasons were marred with injuries, Embiid soon cemented his position as the team’s leader, averaging 33.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.7 blocks on 54.8 percent from the field last season.

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