In Which NBA Game Is James Harden Planning to Return For the 76ers?

James Harden had been making headlines all offseason for his trade requests and his tactics to force the Sixers to trade him. The Beard‘s demand for a trade, ideally to the LA Clipper, came right after he picked up his $35.6 million player option. As a result, he lost his leverage after committing to the Philadelphia 76ers for the 2023-24 season. Therefore, Daryl Morey was under no obligation to adhere to his demands. Consequently, frustrated James Harden turned to different escalation tactics.

Evidently, Harden recognized what was at stake when his plans went awry and his trade negotiations with the Clippers came to a standstill. The disgruntled star returned to the 76ers training facility. However, he will not be participating in the team’s season opener against the Milwaukee Bucks. So when can we see the 76ers point guard on the court again?

When will James Harden make his season debut?

James Harden went to lengths to fulfill his trade demands. He first called the 76ers president of basketball operations a ‘liar’ during a promotional event in China. After the allegations, he went on to miss the team’s first day of training camp at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. His tantrums did not stop there; he then missed the entire preseason due to ‘personal reasons’. He must have realized how his absence was hurting his career. According to the new CBA, if a player in his final year of the contract (which Harden is) “withholds services” for more than 30 days, he is considered to have breached his contract and might lose his veteran free agent status.

Therefore, he rejoined the team in Camden, New Jersey, for practice before the season opener. Coach Nick Nurse clarified that he will not be traveling for the first game against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Sixers will make a brief stop in Toronto for their second game on the road against the Raptors, which Harden will also miss. The 76ers will resume their season with a five-game home stand on Sunday, taking on the Trail Blazers. However, there is still no confirmation whether Harden will join on Sunday. His workouts over the next couple of days will determine his status for the season debut on Sunday against the Blazers, as per Coach Nurse.

Why is Harden missing the season opener?

James will not be joining his team in their first few games since he hasn’t reported to training for 10 days and needs to ramp up before finally stepping on the court. Addressing the situation, Coach Nick Nurse said, “So, like we would normally do, he will stay and get on-court work with our staff and with our players from the [Delaware Blue Coats, Philadelphia’s G-League team] and two-way guys and things like that and try to get him ramped up as soon as we can.”

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Although Harden has yielded and returned to training, the trade saga is far from over. Harden has only rejoined the team to escape the heavy fine that the NBA imposes and because his free-agent status might be in jeopardy. After an uninvolved preseason, he definitely needs time to get back in form. So we will most likely see him play on Sunday against the Trail Blazers.

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