James Harden Is Ready To Make Things Even More Uncomfortable And Is Reportedly Skipping The Sixers Media Day

Maddie Meyer. Getty Images.

While our timelines continue to be filled with Damian Lillard updates that aren't actually updates, you can sometimes forget there's also an extremely dramatic trade situation going on in Philly. I don't know why there's so much noise around the Dame situation given the fact that we all know he's ending up in South Beach. It's been that way since the jump, regardless of whatever public posturing the Blazers try. 

That's why for my money, the more interesting situation is what is happening with Harden. One thing we know about Daryl Morey is he's not afraid to just say fuck it and hold onto an unhappy player until he gets the type of return he wants. It doesn't get more awkward than the Ben Simmons situation and we all saw how that ended. He was able to flip a guy who basically couldn't play for an elite talent, something that not many people thought was possible at the time. Morey is built for this standoff in my opinion.

Well now that elite talent also wants out, and he only wants one team. The only problem there is nobody seems to care. The Clippers don't seem to care that James Harden desperately wants to join their team and the Sixers don't seem to care that Harden wants nothing to do with him. If they did, I feel like this trade would have happened already. It's been relatively quiet on this front, and with media day within the next few days, maybe Harden had a change of heart? Maybe Embiid finally got to him and convinced him to stay?

Don't be silly. This is James Harden. This is his wheelhouse. Nobody, and I mean nobody knows how to sabotage a team until he gets what he wants quite like James Harden. First Ballot Trade Demand HOFer. He told all of us that he was going to make this uncomfortable and I'd say he's done a pretty good job so far. From calling Daryl Morey a liar, to stating he'll never be a part of an organization that employs Morey to now this latest move. This is a pretty big season for the Sixers and now their media day is going to be all about where the hell James Harden is. It's a distraction that no team wants heading into camp. That's why I see this as Harden's latest attempt to try and get this trade going because most teams want their rosters settled by the time we get to media day/training camp. It's his hail mary.

This isn't to say there wouldn't be drama even if Harden did go, but at that point, you can still just give boilerplate PR answers to everything. How you're focused on the season and playing with this group of guys, you don't focus on the past blah blah blah. You know, the exact same thing Malcolm Brogdon is going to do at the Celts media day. He's going to be asked about the Smart trade and how unhappy he supposedly is, and he's going to dodge it with a bullshit PR answer like any professional would.

Why does all this matter? If Harden doesn't show up to media day and training camp, he has 30 days to come back or the Sixers can block his free agency next summer. That might be the funniest ending to all this. If he misses 30 days and the Sixers never trade him if Morey doesn't find a deal he likes, it gives the Sixers the power to block Harden from signing with any team after this season for as long as they want. 

You want to get nuts, let's get nuts!

So while I think we can all assume Dame is going to eventually get what he wants and end up with the Heat, the same cannot be said about James Harden. Who the hell knows how this shakes out, but the one thing we do know is that James Harden looks set on keeping his promise from earlier in the summer. How the Sixers and Morey handle that is the million dollar question that could ultimately dictate their entire season.

No pressure!