PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Unsurprisingly, Sixers star Joel Embiid would love James Harden to stay with the team, but he doesn’t have any ill will toward him for wanting out.
In an interview with Showtime’s Rachel Nichols at a joint NBPA-Fanatics event, Embiid said he was “disappointed” when he found out about Harden’s desire to be traded.
“But then again,” said Embiid, “I also understand it’s business. People make decisions, and I’m more appreciative of the way he’s handled the whole situation. We gonna be boys forever.”
Harden opted into the final year of his contract with the Sixers at the end of June, presumably because his potential free-agent market didn’t materialize as he hoped. But instead of running it back at least one more year in Philadelphia, reports indicated the Sixers and Harden would work together on a trade — which means Harden wanted out.
“Want him to come back, obviously, so we can go out and accomplish what we want, which is to win a championship,” Embiid told Nichols. “So hopefully his mindset can be changed.”
Even if Harden doesn’t play another game for the Sixers, Embiid said he’s happy to be his friend.
“We close and we’ve grown since he got here, and that’s what I’m excited about,” he said. “I’m excited to keep that friendship for the rest of our lives.”
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Embiid and Harden were recently seen spending time together at Fanatic CEO Michael Rubin’s A-lister Fourth of July weekend white party in the Hamptons.
It’s not clear when things will be resolved with Harden, but it appears the Sixers won’t make a trade just for the sake of it. They will want to make a trade that’s right for them, even if it happens after the season begins.