According to Adrian Wojnarowski, James Harden will be a no-show at Sixers Media Day. Woj added that no deal is within sight with the Clippers or any other team. This seems to be a situation that won't end anytime soon as Daryl Morey has been known to hold the line for as long as possible in trade negotiations. He does this in order to get as much value as possible.
The Sixers could choose to fine him for not showing up to Media Day but this might just add fuel to the fire. Philadelphia most likely needs to make a move sooner or later due to the fact that Harden doesn't have much value on the open market. It's hard to imagine a world where a team trades anything more than expiring contracts and one or two first-round picks for him.
Not many teams will be interested in him because he wants a max contract and is an aging player. If he signs a long-term deal, he will most likely be a negative contract in years by the time his next contract is over.
What is the best thing for the 76ers to do with James Harden?
The best thing for the 76ers to do with Harden is to find a trade partner that is willing to give up one to two good first-round picks in exchange for the All-NBA player. Along with the picks that they have left, this will allow the team to make one last push to keep Embiid from requesting a trade next offseason.
If the Clippers are unable to show enough interest in acquiring Harden, the New York Knicks could be a suitable team. The two picks that the Knicks could offer are the 2024 top-10-protected Mavericks pick and the 2025-protected Bucks pick. This would be smart due to the fact that New York will most likely be unable to find enough playing time for the rookies that would be selected with those picks so it might make sense to trade for an All-NBA scorer like Harden.
In the playoffs, this team severely lacked scoring and adding Harden could do that for the team. To be clear and before you start typing in the comments about how extending Harden would be a bad long-term contract for the Knicks, this would be viewed as a short-term rental. Paying a lot for a short-term rental makes sense due to the fact the team has a lot of assets and can't really use all of them.
The team has already traded Obi Toppin and will most likely have to move Immanuel Quickley at some point due to the fact that they do not have rotational minutes to play him. Getting a deal done where they give up I.Q, Isaiah Hartenstein, Evan Fournier, and picks might be the thing that brings them to Eastern Conference title contention this season and next (pending Harden re-signs on a one year deal Similar to the Sixers situation so he can make more money the season after)
