Despite the drama that occurred with James Harden forcing his way out of Philadelphia, the 76ers are still playing good basketball.
In June, when free agency opened up, superstar James Harden was looking for a contract extension after signing a contract last year to help the team win a championship.
When Harden spoke to Philadelphia’s General Manager Daryl Morey, conversations did not go well. After the conversation, Harden had opted into his player option and requested a trade.
He requested he get traded to the Los Angeles Clippers to play alongside All-Stars Paul George and Kawhi Leonard.
When Harden was spending time in China, he made it known that GM Daryl Morey was a “liar” and that he would never play for his organization again.
As we fast forward to the first day of the Philadelphia 76ers training camp on October 3, 2023 the whole team arrived at Colorado State University besides Harden.
So, of course, acknowledging James Harden’s history of forcing himself out of teams, he does not like to report to training camp and all the NBA reporters could not wait to talk about this.
Nobody had an answer as to where Harden was.
The next day the former MVP arrived at training camp, and he looked like he was fully engaged to make a run at a championship this season alongside NBA superstar Joel Embiid and his new Head Coach Nick Nurse.
As the team gets back to Philly to get prepared for their first game of the NBA season, the organization tells James Harden he would not be on the flight going to Milwaukee to play against the Bucks.
As the season got going, the rest of the players didn’t let that affect their play. Joel Embiid is giving his team all he has to help them have a successful season.
On November 1st, the 76ers finally decided to let Harden go. They traded James Harden and P.J. Tucker to the Clippers for Nicolas Batum, K.J. Martin, Marcus Morris, Robert Covington, and a couple of draft picks.
Throughout all of this, the 76ers are off to a fantastic start. Besides the matchup vs Milwaukee, they have won every game since then. They are currently 8-1 with a big win over the Boston Celtics.
Superstar Joel Embiid led the way with 27 points and ten rebounds while Maxey contributed with 25 points, nine rebounds, and five assists vs Boston.
If all continues, Tyrese Maxey should definitely be an All-Star this year without a problem.