76ers' James Harden Praises Nick Nurse's System: 'More Opportunities for Everyone'

Count 76ers star James Harden among those who have fully bought into Nick Nurse's system in Philadelphia.

"I think it's more spacing, more opportunities for everyone and just unpredictable," Harden said Friday, per ESPN's Tim Bontemps.

"He can change things up on the fly, and if things in one, five, six, seven possessions aren't going right, or in one quarter, he can change it and make adjustments. Which is very difficult to do. But he's very, very good at that."

The 76ers hired Nurse as a replacement for Doc Rivers, who was fired as head coach following the 2022-23 season. Nurse spent the last five seasons as head coach of the Toronto Raptors, leading the team to an NBA title in 2019, before being fired after a 41-41 finish to the 2022-23 campaign.

Harden has been at the center of trade rumors all offseason as his relationship with president of basketball operations Daryl Morey has soured to the point of no return.

The 76ers have attempted to trade Harden to his preferred destination—the Los Angeles Clippers—but nothing has come to fruition and he opted to report to Philadelphia's training camp earlier this month. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported at the time that Harden's goal was to make the Sixers feel "uncomfortable" with his presence in hopes of forcing a trade.

Although he's clearly disgruntled, Harden has been performing up to par during practices. Sixers teammate Tyrese Maxey said during a recent appearance on The Old Man and the Three podcast that the veteran has participated in all drills and is working hard.

"He was very, like, receptive. He worked hard," Maxey said. "He did all the drills. He was talking to, even, like young guys that he didn't know."

If the 76ers aren't going to trade Harden, it's important that he buys into the process if Philadelphia hopes to compete with the likes of the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics for the Eastern Conference crown.

So far, so good, but this will be a storyline to watch throughout the season.