PALO ALABASTERY —James Harden left the team during training camp, so he was not available for play in the Sixers’ season opening against Milwaukee on Thursday. He departed the team because, in his opinion, Sixers president Daryl Morey ought to have traded him, as Morey had previously stated. However, Morey never said that he would be exchanged for a bag of hammers. If only the hammers had arrived. The Sixers have to take a stance at this moment. Harden is under contract and has reported, so they must retain him on staff, but they are not required to play him for another minute.
There is almost zero benefit to his presence. At this point, to any self-respecting organization, he should be as valuable as a 20-year-old jock strap and as welcome as a workplace environment investigation.
There is almost zero benefit to his presence. At this point, to any self-respecting organization, he should be as valuable as a 20-year-old jock strap and as welcome as a workplace environment investigation.
This is a bad situation, entirely of Harden’s creation, and it will only get worse. Like Bigfoot and the Yeti, Harden should only exist in the Sixers’ complex as an unverifiable myth. He deserves to be shunned like an Amish guy caught with an iPhone. In the best traditions of Ben Simmons and Carson Wentz, Harden is nothing more than a traitor — to the city, to the organization, to his teammates, and to Morey, the executive who built both of their careers on overestimating Harden’s value.
Harden this summer called Morey “a liar,” vowed he’d never play for him again, held out of training camp, and then caved and reported at the end of preseason. He then left the team for 10 days, and we’ve all seen the damage Harden can do to even a well-conditioned body in 10 days (10 days? Two days). The Sixers assessed his fitness, decided it ranked somewhere between weekend cyclist and mall-walking grandma, and refused to even let him on the team plane. They’re on the track right track, but they should go further. He should never get on another team plane. Send him home.
Just move on. He’s not worth the time. Harden is an embarrassment to a blue-collar city like Philadelphia, where John Chaney coached like a maniac at Temple and where Sixers legend Andrew Toney became the Boston Strangler. Harden earned a nickname after tangling with the Celtics, too: The Boston Choker.
There’s nothing blue-collar about not showing up for work. There’s nothing blue-collar about refusing to play defense. There’s nothing blue-collar about being out of shape. Harden reportedly spent a month this summer in a mountainside luxury “boot camp,” but apparently he didn’t bring a drill sergeant. Think about it. Not even the Sixers think he’s in shape. I mean, if the Sixers won’t let you play, you gotta look like one of those dad-bods playing in the late-night 4-on-4 league down at Y.
It’s the M.O. of millennial hoopsters, that they put their team in this bind. Heck, Harden did it twice himself to become a 76er, so, buyer beware, right? It doesn’t happen only in basketball, either. But this is the worst holdout episode, and this is why: Harden could have gone to any team after last season by opting out of his contract. Instead, he opted in. No matter what promises might’ve been made, that locked up millions that could have been used on other players.
And, so, it began in earnest Thursday; well, actually, it began Wednesday afternoon on a sunny tarmac. The Sixers said they wanted Harden to stay back so they could monitor his conditioning, and they cited their high-tech sports-science equipment, but … please. If they wanted him to get in shape, they’ve got StairMasters in Milwaukee, too. Of course Harden could have gone, but they knew he’d just be a badly dressed distraction in desperate need of hedge clippers, sitting on their benches in Milwaukee and Toronto. Instead, they him on that tarmac,.
Everybody knows he’s just here to keep himself from being fined almost $400,000 per game, and that’s about what the Sixers will have to pay him to stay away. So what. Sixers owner Josh Harris is worth almost $7 billion. Harden is sunk cost. At $389,082 a night, keeping that seat empty is a bargain. If Harden hangs around, you know what’s coming next: Two months of poor effort. A cascade of fake injuries. He’ll miss games because of “emotional distress” or “personal reasons.” It will be two months of garbage as, out of spite, he tries to prevent ant cohesion of a team built on a massively talented but fundamentally flawed center, a one-dimensional guard, a static small forward, and the oldest bodyguard in the NBA.
The James Harden Experiment certainly was worth it. In his season-and-a-half, he provided Hall of Fame moments, even if they were only about as frequent as full moons. He also absorbed some of the spotlight directed at Joel Embiid. They also say he mentored young guard Tyrese Maxey, though we’re pretty sure Maxey will recover. Assuming Harden remains, he might tell you that he’s gonna be all-in when he starts to play. Don’t buy it. The only things James Harden has ever been all-in with are strip clubs, fast food, and outfits best accessorized with red rubber noses. For goodness’ sake, dude, buy a suit.
Will they miss him? Debatable.
They were defeated by the Bucks in Milwaukee on Thursday, but that is unrelated to the topic at hand. They should have avoided Harden like he was Rudy Guiliani’s handkerchief even if they had lost by forty. Harden could help the Sixers win more games, but not enough to make it worth the distraction, and most definitely not in the postseason, where he performs worst.
