Harden says relationship with 76ers cannot be repaired, he is ramping up to play in opener

We are 11 days from the start of the NBA season and James Harden is still a member of the Philadelphia 76ers. His trade request — ideally to the Los Angeles Clippers — still stands, the Clippers are still interested, and the sides are talking. Just don’t mistake that for any real movement yet.

For the first time this season, Harden spoke with reporters and made it clear that his relationship with team president Daryl Morey and the 76ers front office cannot be repaired. He wants to be traded. In his mind, this is all on the Sixers and the front office.

Harden also said he is gearing up to play and start the season in Philly if that is where things stand (he also expects to take the court in the 76ers’ final preseason game).

Where do things stand with a Harden trade? Here’s a breakdown, with information from Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe of ESPN, among other sources.

• Morey wants an All-Star player back for Harden — so the team can remain title contenders built around Joel Embiid — or at least enough picks and other players to flip the package into an All-Star player.

• Maybe the bigger question: If the 76ers have an engaged Harden — or turn him into an All-Star player via a trade or series of trades — does that make the 76ers contenders in the East against Boston and Milwaukee? The Celtics and Bucks have upgraded this offseason.

• The Clippers are the only team in the running for Harden — “It is a one-team market” is how Wojnarowski put it.

• Los Angeles wants Harden but is not desperate for him, and they will not start bidding against themselves. Their offer reportedly stands at one first-round pick (2028), one pick swap, and veteran expiring contracts to match salary (maybe a young player such as Bones Hyland or Amir Coffey thrown in). That does not come close to what Morey and the 76ers want for Harden.

• The Clippers are shopping their 2028 pick to other teams to see if they can get multiple first-round picks back to appease the 76ers, Wojnarowski explains.

“What the Clippers are trying to do is take their 2028 first-round pick — that’s unprotected, that’s the next pick they have available to put in a trade — and see if other teams who they’re talking with might value that with multiple first-round picks. Because there’s a lot of teams who look at the Clippers and go, ‘they could be headed for a real fall by then.’ They don’t have a group of young players coming up. They’ve got an older team. And perhaps if we have several first-round picks, we’ll take a gamble that ’28 pick could be a lottery pick, it could be a high lottery pick, and we’re willing to maybe give you two picks that might have protections on them to be able to offer the Sixers…

“Those teams who’ve been talking to the Clippers, they expect that very soon, the Clippers are going to go back to Philadelphia with a few different scenarios and say, ‘Hey, if you don’t just like the 2028 pick, is there another combination of picks or pick swaps and picks that are more interesting to you? And listen, the Clippers aren’t going to do any of those trades without it being contingent with the Sixers.”

• What the Clippers are not going to do is throw in more of their own picks or players. Philadelphia reportedly wants Terance Mann, the Clippers have yet to put him in a deal. Los Angeles isn’t going to let Mann stand in the way of a good trade should one come along, but right now there is no reason for them to add him to the offer.

• Who the Clippers really wanted was Jrue Holiday when Portland was shopping him, Wojnarowski reports, but the Trail Blazers preferred the Celtics’ trade package (where Portland likely trades Malcolm Brogdon and maybe Robert Williams III for more picks).

• The Clippers also need to figure out their long-term plans — this is a now-or-never year for them. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are both extension eligible and have talked about their love of playing in Los Angeles. The Clippers move into the new Intuit Dome next season and owner Steve Ballmer doesn’t want to do that with a rebuilding team. However, Harden is in the last year of his contract and any team that trades anything of value for him will want to re-sign him (and keeping Harden happy has proved a challenge in Houston, Brooklyn and Philly). Do Ballmer and the Clippers want to trade for Harden, re-sign him and extend their other stars, then be locked into two or three years of Harden/Leonard/George?

• The Clippers short-term fallback may be a trade for Malcolm Brogdon with Portland. The reigning Sixth Man of the Year would cost less than Harden but he is not as good a player and comes with an injury history.

• The biggest question in Philadelphia: What does Joel Embiid think of all this? The reigning MVP has been patient and a good soldier for the 76ers franchise, but for how much longer? Numerous teams around the league are monitoring the Embiid situation and hoping that at some point — maybe next summer? — he is the superstar asking for a trade. Morey is doing everything he can to prevent that from happening, and if nothing else he would have cap space next summer to chase a big-name free agent (Leonard, George or Pascal Siakam would top the list if they don’t re-sign with their current teams). Would Embiid wait that out? That’s not a short-term issue, but with it seeming far more likely Giannis Antetokounmpo re-signs in Milwaukee, Embiid looks like he could be the next superstar on the move (him, or maybe that guy in Dallas).