James Harden is not in attendance for the Philadelphia 76ers media day on Monday and "remains upset" he has not been traded to the Los Angeles Clippers yet, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
76ers president Daryl Morey confirmed that Harden is still seeking a trade and will be fined for skipping media day.
This summer Harden was caught on video saying "Daryl Morey is a liar" in China and that he will never play for a team that he is a part of again. Harden was then fined $100,000 for the comments by the NBA.
Harden reportedly told NBA investigators that he called Morey a "liar" in regards to Morey going back on his word that he would trade Harden "quickly" after Harden decided to opt-in to his $35.6 million contract with Philadelphia for the 2023-24 season, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania.
Harden, 34, is coming off of a season where he took a pay cut with the Sixers and had a successful regular season, averaging 21.0 points, 6.1 rebounds and an NBA best 10.7 assists per game.
However, Harden was streaky in the postseason, as the Sixers were eliminated in the second-round of the playoffs once again.
Over the past few days, the Milwaukee Bucks acquired Damian Lillard in a three-team trade involving Jrue Holiday. Holiday was then traded to the Boston Celtics, of all teams, all but removing the Sixers from legitimate Eastern Conference contention conversation barring a major move.