CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers wrapped up a practice session on Tuesday with a business-as-usual attitude. The Sixers were working through the James Harden saga throughout the offseason and the early part of the 2023-24 season.
Finally, the saga ended with Harden getting what he wanted: a trade to the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Sixers sent Harden along with PJ Tucker and Filip Petrusev to LA in exchange for Marcus Morris Sr., Nic Batum, KJ Martin, Robert Covington and a slew of draft picks.
The Harden era in Philadelphia lasted 79 games and two consecutive second-round exits. However, the future Hall of Famer had an undeniable impact on his teammates, including young Tyrese Maxey. The young guard learned a lot from him.
“So much, man, and I texted him,” Maxey began. “I told him I love him. I told him I appreciated him because one thing that he really instilled in me is confidence, and I’ve always been a confident person, but he made me be even more confident than I already was and I’ll always appreciate him for that.”
One can say what they will about Harden’s antics and the way his stay ended in Philadelphia, but there is no denying he was a good teammate. He was a positive voice in the locker room, and he was well-liked by his teammates.
“He took me under his wing, taught me a lot of things as far as just being a professional in his league, and how things go so I appreciate him,” Maxey added. “I love him. Same thing with Tuck. Love those guys.”
The Harden-Joel Embiid duo was supposed to help the Sixers get over the hump in the Eastern Conference. From that standpoint, the big deal to acquire Harden at the 2022 deadline could be viewed as a failure.
“Life happens,” Maxey finished. “Life happens. Stuff happens. Things happen. Like I said, right now, this team is really just focusing on who’s here in the building. That’s been the best thing that we could possibly do in this opening stretch and opening week for us, and it’s helped us be pretty successful.”
The Sixers play host to the Toronto Raptors on Thursday.
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