Sixers’ Paul Reed on James Harden’s departure: ‘I’m just happy he got somewhere he wanted to be’

Reaction to the James Harden trade to the Los Angeles Clippers is still trickling out of the Sixers. Following Thursday’s shootaround, reserve big man Paul Reed called the late-night deal “kind of crazy, but I’m happy for him.”

“That’s what he wanted, apparently,” Reed said of Harden. “I’m just happy he got somewhere he wanted to be.”

Reed, who eventually developed nice pick-and-roll chemistry with Harden, again credited his former teammate with teaching him about screening angles to get guards open. Reed also praised P.J. Tucker, who has joined Harden in Los Angeles as part of the trade package, with helping instill the correct mindset for each practice.

“Him being a championship player,” Reed said of Tucker, “it means a lot when he’s giving me pointers about how to take it more serious and how to approach each game at a different level of intensity.”

Reed said he had not communicated with Harden or Tucker since the trade, but has been “tapped in” to the videos that quickly surfaced online.

Life has been a whirlwind for new Sixer KJ Martin, who has now been traded twice in four months.

In July, the intriguing 22-year-old wing was dealt from the Houston Rockets, where he spent his first three NBA seasons, to his hometown Clippers. After three games, however, Martin was included in the return package the Sixers received in exchange for Harden, Tucker, and Filip Petrusev.

The raw emotion from that move was captured live when Martin’s father, longtime NBA standout Kenyon Martin, was on Gilbert Arenas’ “Gil’s Arena” YouTube show.

“Having to wake your wife up and tell her this,” Kenyon Martin said. “Having to break this to the little ones. They’re excited when KJ comes by. It’s that that people don’t understand. It’s hard to put into words without being emotional about it. … I’m excited for him, man.”

» READ MORE: James Harden’s Sixers era: A timeline of an eventful, tumultuous Philly tenure

KJ echoed that it was “kind of tough” to leave Los Angeles so quickly, but believes he joins a “great situation” with the Sixers. As a hyper-athletic wing, Martin thinks he can fit into coach Nick Nurse’s aggressive system. And he has been working with Sixers assistant Rico Hines since he was 15 years old, including during this past summer’s iconic pick-up games.

“He’s the one who really helped me work out with NBA guys and kind of get me ready,” Martin said of Hines following Wednesday’s practice.

And the biggest advice KJ continues to take from his father? Showing respect to the more behind-the-scenes staff working for teams and arenas.

“It goes a long way,” KJ Martin said. “That’s one thing that always stuck with me — making sure I’m on time to things, not wasting other people’s time.”

The Sixers will wear their new Reading Terminal Market-inspired City Edition jerseys for the first time for Saturday’s home game against the Phoenix Suns.

The navy uniform features the “City of Brotherly Love” wordmark across the jersey chest for the second consecutive season, though the word “Brotherly” is now in the form of the market’s iconic neon signage. The jersey’s right side also has two arrows pointing down, mimicking the signage that would direct customers from the train station to the market.

“We were drawn to Reading Terminal Market’s rich history and tradition that has been built over the past 130 years, making it a staple in our city and an easy choice for the inspiration behind this year’s City Edition,” Sixers Chief Revenue Officer Katie O’Reilly said in a release. " … We hope these uniforms help shine a light on the diverse, rich and historic culture within its walls.”

The Sixers will wear the uniforms 10 other times throughout the 2023-24 season. They were first unveiled last month at an event with vendors inside Reading Terminal Market, which is recognized as a National Historic Landmark after opening in 1893.

The season-long celebration of the market also indicates a new phase for the Sixers’ “Spirit of Small Business” program designed to combat the systemic issue of equal access for companies across the region. Each game day, the Sixers will promote one local small business housed inside the market on its social and digital platforms.

Reading Terminal Market is also located adjacent to where the Sixers hope to build a new arena along East Market Street in Center City, replacing a portion of the Fashion District Philadelphia mall.