On Thursday, James Harden notified the Philadelphia 76ers that he’d be foregoing free agency and picking up the $35.6 million player option on his contract for the 2023-2024 season instead. But he wasn’t doing so because he wanted to remain in Philadelphia. He informed the Sixers, according to a source familiar with the events, that he wanted to be traded. Why he’s asked out of Philadelphia is unclear. For more than two years now, Harden’s stated motives have been a contradictory mess. First, he forced the Rockets to trade him in the middle of the 2020-2021 season. Then, on the…
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James Harden’s days in Philadelphia are unofficially over, with the Sixers star deciding on Thursday to opt into the $35.6 million option on his contract for next season en route to asking for a trade, as The Athletic’s Shams Charania first reported. According to sources directly involved in the situation on both sides, the Los Angeles native wants to play for the Clippers and the Sixers are already in the process of discussing his desired move. Harden is, according to sources close to him, extremely upset at the way in which the Sixers handled his possible free agency and has…