Insider Confirms Sixers Discussed James Harden Trade With Two Teams

New behind-the-scenes reports from Philadelphia emerged Wednesday morning.

The start of the 2024 NBA season is now just under seven weeks away. For much of the league, this is a number associated with a new year's optimism. For the 76ers, it's a reminder of how quickly their current headache may bleed into the regular season.

Philadelphia's offseason has been dominated by trade rumors surrounding guard James Harden, who reportedly requested to be dealt in June. Relations between Harden and the 76ers gradually deteriorated, culminating in Harden calling Philadelphia president Daryl Morey "a liar" during an August trip to China.

On Wednesday morning, ESPN's Ramona Shelburne reported that in the aftermath of Harden's denunciation of Morey, the executive ramped up efforts to trade him. Those efforts zeroed in on two teams: the Clippers and Knicks.

"(After the China outburst), Morey left Harden alone," Shelburne wrote. "He said he would make a good faith effort to trade Harden and had initial conversations, league sources said, with Harden's preferred team, the Clippers, as well as the New York Knicks."

Per Shelburne, both Los Angeles and New York were loath to meet Morey's asking price, and thus Harden remains in Pennsylvania.

"I want this to work out for all sides, including James. But we have to keep our eye on the big picture, which is that we're still a contending team and most teams in the NBA would change places with us in five minutes," 76ers owner Josh Harris told Shelburne.