Disappointing Sixers Storylines After New James Harden Rumor

Harden could borrow a page from Ben Simmons’ school of passive aggressiveness by milking a lingering injury — remember, he missed significant time last season after suffering a tendon strain in his right foot — or he could create an entirely new ailment. Simmons cited a back injury, as well as mental health issues, as the main reasons why he couldn’t attend training camp in 2021 until he finally reported to practice ahead of the season opener. Former coach Doc Rivers famously asked him to leave when Simmons refused to participate in team drills.

There are major differences between this situation and that one. For starters, Simmons wasn’t willing to see the Sixers team doctors to discuss his mental readiness. They were already treating the back injury and had cleared him to participate in basketball activities. Again, Simmons refused and the Sixers ended up fining him nearly $20 million during his self-imposed holdout. 

The other major difference between Harden and Simmons is attitude. All the dirt about Simmons’ unhappiness was leaked from anonymous sources. He never uttered a word. Meanwhile, Harden literally spoke ill of the Sixers’ organization during a very public appearance, spewing non-cryptic venom into a microphone (twice), and did so with a wry smile on his face.

Don’t be surprised if Harden shows up on the injury report to start training camp. He could point to that foot injury or claim a re-aggravation of a Grade 2 hamstring injury that bothered him for the better part of two seasons. He’ll have options if he truly wants to make things uncomfortable, perhaps he even alluded to using the hamstring injury as a possible career-ender last July.

“It feels like I had a perfect career,” Harden told The Associated Press. “I didn’t have any serious injuries, but that (hamstring) right there slowed me down to where all right, you got to start thinking about other things than basketball.”