76ers' Patrick Beverley: 'Hell Yeah' I Want James Harden to Stay Amid Trade Rumors

New Philadelphia 76ers guard Patrick Beverley is really hoping James Harden ultimately stays with the team.

"Hell yeah you want him here," he told reporters Monday. "Hell yeah you want him in the locker room. Hell yeah you want him first day of practice. One of my decisions coming here was because James Harden was here. So I hope he stays. Hope that everybody can kind of work something out and put that behind us and kind of move forward. I think it's important."

Reigning MVP Joel Embiid is also hoping his star teammate returns.

"Disappointed," Embiid said when he learned Harden wanted to be traded. "But then again, I also understand it's business. People make decisions. I'm more appreciative of the way he's handled the whole situation. We're going to be boys forever. I want him to come back, obviously, so that we can go out and accomplish what we want, which is to win a championship. So hopefully his mindset can be changed."

Time will tell.

There's no doubt that Harden benefitted Philly's offense, averaging a league-high 10.7 assists per game to go along with 21 points per contest. But the Sixers weren't able to get past the second round yet again, in part because of Harden's growing limitations, which likely played a part in the team not offering him a max deal this summer.

He appears to have lost a step off the dribble, making his scoring output more inconsistent. He's always had his ups-and-downs in the playoffs and has never been a strong defender.

Still, losing him without getting another star in return doesn't benefit Philly either. So it isn't a surprise that players like Beverley and Embiid are hoping to see him return.