The latest on the James Harden conundrum, and where the Sixers could go from here

Tuesday featured the latest round of James Harden fireworks, when the NBA fined the 76ers guard $100,000 for his “liar” comments made last week about president of basketball operations Daryl Morey.

The good news for the Sixers: The league investigation confirmed that those comments “referenced Harden’s belief that the 76ers would not accommodate his request to be traded” — and were not related to any prior handshake agreement about a future contract, which would violate NBA rules via salary cap circumvention.

Still, this remains a conundrum with training camp a little more than a month away. Before that, will there be more splashes to interrupt the summer’s typical dog days? Then, will this linger, à la the Ben Simmons saga from two years ago?

Here’s a look at where this Harden situation stands, how we got here, and what could happen next.

More specifically, the NBA punished Harden because the probe determined his public comments on two occasions last week “[indicated] that he would not perform the services called for under his player contract unless traded to another team.”

This came after news surfaced over the weekend that the NBA had launched an inquiry into the root of Harden’s denouncement of Morey — including that he would “never be a part of an organization that [Morey is] a part of — while in China promoting his shoe line. Then, during an interview with KHOU 11 in Houston, Harden said “I think so” when asked if his relationship with the Sixers is “beyond repair.” The league said its probe included an interview with Harden.

Later Tuesday, the National Basketball Players Association said it intends to file a grievance in response.

“We respectfully disagree with the league’s decision to discipline James Harden for recent comments he made, which we believe do not violate the rule against public trade demands,” the union said in a statement.

That conclusion echoed the findings of a prior tampering investigation, which did reveal premature free-agency conversations with P.J. Tucker and Danuel House during the summer of 2022, but no wrongdoing in Harden’s decision to opt out of his previous contract to sign a new “one-plus-one deal” that provided the Sixers with the immediate financial flexibility to sign his former Houston Rockets teammates.

Still, emotional tensions remain high — at least on Harden’s side. For now, though, Harden remains a Sixer.

» READ MORE: Report: James Harden tells NBA investigators Daryl Morey ‘liar’ comment stems from Sixers halting trade talks

This saga began with a surprise decision by Harden, when he exercised his $35.6 million player option for 2023-24 and simultaneously requested that the Sixers trade him.

Leading up to that late June deadline, Harden was expected to decline that option and enter free agency. But the Sixers were not willing to hinder their future by offering Harden a lucrative deal with the potential to turn into an albatross as he aged. It’s also fair to conclude that the open-market interest was not what Harden envisioned — particularly from the Rockets, who signed Fred VanVleet to a max contract instead of reuniting with their former MVP. Speculation had swirled since Christmas morning about Harden’s possible gravitation back to the team that catapulted him to superstardom, despite its rebuilding status.

So Harden took the guaranteed money while also expressing his desire to play elsewhere. His preferred destination is now the Los Angeles Clippers, a hometown team with unfulfilled championship aspirations anchored by Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

Yet no satisfactory deal materialized from the Sixers’ perspective, once the summer transaction cycle began June 30. The lack of traction is unsurprising, given that the Clippers know they essentially are bidding against themselves, since Harden named L.A. his desired destination. The same can be said about the Miami Heat regarding Damian Lillard.

That stalemate led to the leak that the Sixers had at least temporarily halted discussions. And then, to Harden popping off about Morey.

It’s unwise to predict exactly how this will play out over the coming weeks (and, potentially, months). But there is precedent on both sides. And if Morey and Harden follow a similar approach, buckle up for a clunky ride.

There are obvious comparisons to draw to the Simmons drama from two years ago, which provided evidence that Morey will wait for the right deal.

Following a disastrous end to the 2021 playoffs — including an infamous passed-up dunk, and instant-reaction postgame comments by his former coach and star teammate — Simmons made a trade demand and said he would not report to training camp. Morey, though, kept Simmons until the 2022 trade deadline that, coincidentally, yielded Harden in a blockbuster deal with the Brooklyn Nets. Plenty of discomfort existed in the interim, when Simmons initially held out, then was kicked out of practice the day before the season opener, then never played for the Sixers again while former coach Doc Rivers and teammates regularly fielded questions about his absence.

Harden also has a history of making life difficult for teams when he wants out.

After Morey and former coach Mike D’Antoni left the Rockets following the 2020 playoffs, Harden partied in Las Vegas and Atlanta — flouting then-stringent COVID-19 protocols — instead of reporting to training camp on time. After he was traded to the star-studded Brooklyn Nets, a 2021-22 season marred by Kyrie Irving’s ineligibility to play in New York City because he refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and injuries to Kevin Durant led to Harden turning visibly disinterested until he was traded to Philadelphia.

The difference now: Harden is now in a contract year, is about to turn 34 years old, and has experienced where the market opinion of him now stands. He led the NBA in assists during the 2022-23 regular season, and proved he is still capable of dropping 40 points multiple times in a playoff series. But he struggled to finish at the rim throughout the postseason, and miserable shooting performances in the Sixers’ Game 6 and 7 losses to the Boston Celtics marked a sour final impression of the season.

How long will this drag out? Consider this: If the worst-case scenario unfolds — and Harden never plays for the Sixers this season and is not traded — there still is value in holding his Bird rights.

» READ MORE: James Harden was dumb to put the Sixers in a corner. His new diss video is a dumber way of doubling down.

Even with Harden’s flaws, and his age, he is still one of the league’s premier playmakers for a Sixers offense that ranked third in the NBA in efficiency last season at 117 points per 100 possessions. His absence, barring a move or series of moves that yield another top-notch point guard, would leave a significant void.

Tyrese Maxey, one of the league’s rising stars, was forced into that role during Simmons’ holdout until Harden arrived two seasons ago. Maxey now has far more experience since, and has presumably tailored his offseason training to account for the possibility that he could be initiating the offense much more if Harden departs. But Maxey also has thrived while playing off the ball, shooting a blistering 43.4% from three-point range last season and using his explosiveness to get to the rim while averaging a career-high 20.3 points per game.

De’Anthony Melton and veteran newcomer Patrick Beverley also have ballhandling experience, and Furkan Korkmaz is an emergency option in that scenario. Shake Milton is no longer on the roster after signing with the Minnesota Timberwolves as a free agent.

The Harden situation has unearthed an interesting clause in the Collective Bargaining Agreement. It states that if a veteran in the final year of his contract “withholds services” for more than 30 days, the player “shall not be entitled to negotiate or sign a Player Contract with any other professional basketball team unless and until the Team for which the player last played expressly agreed otherwise.”

Yes, any professional team, in any locale. Even in China, where Harden is extremely popular and where he made the “liar” comments about Morey.

» READ MORE: Three takeaways from the Sixers’ 2023-24 schedule release

The Sixers’ goal is to maintain their championship aspirations, potentially setting up for a big swing via a trade this season or in 2024 free agency with cap flexibility when Harden and Tobias Harris come off the books.

Those goals remain intact because they still have reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid. And though Embiid has made limited public comments this offseason, he created a firestorm when he said during a conversation with Maverick Carter that his goal is to win titles “whether it’s in Philly or anywhere else.”

Embiid attempted to walk that statement back on social media, attributing it to his “Troel” persona. But he is dealing with another summer with a disgruntled co-star, which could bleed into another season of his prime with a disgruntled (or nonexistent) co-star. It’s understandable for outsiders to ponder if Embiid could become the next superstar to ask for a trade, though he has never vocalized a desire to leave.

Perhaps Embiid’s July 1 post on X (formerly Twitter) best embodies his approach: “The Watcher.”