76ers Must Trade James Harden to Focus on Championship Hopes Amid Latest NBA Rumors

The deteriorating relationship between James Harden and the Philadelphia 76ers continues to make headlines with every day that he skips team practices or speaks out against team president Daryl Morey.

The more his name is in the news and associated with the team, the more focus is taken off of the organization's goal to both win an NBA Championship, something star Joel Embiid has expressed is key to keeping him happy and in The City of Brotherly Love.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported that a sizeable gap remains in negotiations between Philadelphia and Los Angeles in a trade for Harden.

Sam Amick of The Athletic reported that Morey believes the Clippers' to be 'unserious.'

"Despite the Sixers indicating that they would accept an offer of a Clippers' unprotected first-round pick, first-round pick swap, players to match the salaries and Mann, two people involved in the negotiations say Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank reiterated the team's stance that Mann would not be part of their offer. Morey, those people say, expressed his disbelief and accused the Clippers of being "unserious" about getting a deal done," he wrote.

Whether the deal happens with Los Angeles or another team, the 76ers must offload Harden to avoid any further distractions.

Embiid has dutifully served the role of leader to this point, saying the right things, but one has to wonder how long it will be before the frustration of the situation and the focus on all of the wrong things mounts.

Danny Green echoed the sentiment, adding that the team is full of veterans who know how to compartmentalize and focus on what is important. "James is usually here to work. This is the first day he hasn't, but the guys that are here, we're here to practice, we're here to work on what we need to work on to get better and that's what we've been focusing on since Day 1," he told reporters.

Head coach Nick Nurse was less concerned with Harden's absence and more with those who were in attendance, stating, "Listen, I think I stay with if he's here, we go, and if he's not here, we go. We got work to do and again it was a good, long, kind of a grinder day."

The words suggest the team appears unfazed by the situation at hand but regardless of the sport, we have repeatedly seen teams say similar but ultimately be thrown off or adversely affected by the media scrutiny that comes along with a disgruntled player.

Especially when that player does not hesitate to speak his mind and voice his frustrations.

The sooner the Sixers find a trade partner for Harden and can get the cameras out of Embiid, Nurse and the rest of the teams' faces, and back onto the on-court product, the better the chances that Philadelphia can be unequivocally focused on pursuing a title.

Until then, the questions will come, the media attention will remain on Harden's practice attendance and trade demands, and the result will be a team that is never truly able to gel and be the title contender that its talent reflects.