NBA Twitter Calls Out 'Awkward' James Harden Situation After 76ers Don't Trade Star

Things are about to get very uncomfortable in South Philadelphia.

On Saturday, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Philadelphia 76ers have abandoned attempts to trade James Harden and are planning to bring him to training camp:

Phew boy. Get out the popcorn.

Harden, 33, has twice forced trades in his career, once away from the Houston Rockets to the Brooklyn Nets, and once away from the Nets to these Sixers. The belief this offseason was that he was trying to get to the Los Angeles Clippers to pair with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

Seeing as the Clippers didn't have any stars they could offer the Sixers in such a deal—and seeing as the Sixers have a short title window while trying to maximize the title window of defending MVP Joel Embiid, so they weren't interested in receiving pennies on the dollar just because Harden wanted to be moved—no deal materialized.

And it's setting up what should be a very awkward showdown to start the 2023-24 season, as NBA Twitter noted:

This feels like a no-win situation for both an unhappy Harden and a Sixers team that doesn't want a disgruntled star on its hands, unless one of two things happens:

• Harden decides to give the Sixers one last heartfelt shot in an attempt to win a title before departing in free agency next summer.
• A trade involving another star player somehow materializes. Like, for instance, if Damian Lillard suddenly expressed an interest in playing with Embiid and a third team wanted Harden, it sure would open up the type of door the Sixers are seeking. But that feels like a long shot.

So for now, we may be in for a few months of subtweeting and low-effort highlights that become viral memes and exasperated Embiid expressions and just the general dysfunction that has seemed to haunt the Sixers in their post-Process attempts to be contenders.

Somehow, this organization has just never quite been able to get it right around Embiid. It's almost comical at this point. Even Philly fans—who can turn to the Philadelphia Eagles and Philadelphia Phillies, both who made their respective championships last season, for more stable and realistic title hopes—seem to be in on the joke at this point.