Philadelphia 76ers’ All-Star Joel Embiid has broken his silence on the trade request from his teammate.
Two weeks ago, it was reported that Harden opted into his $35.6 million player option for the 2023-24 season. The 2018 league MVP did this with the hope that it would help orchestrate a trade out of Philadelphia.
Embiid addressed Harden’s trade request during an interview with Showtime’s Rachel Nichols (h/t Jack Murray of Bleacher Report). In the interview, Embiid stated that he’s hopeful that Harden will end up walking back on his trade request
“I want him to come back, obviously, so we can accomplish what we want, which is a championship. Hopefully his mindset can be changed. Other than that, I’m just so happy to be his friend. We close and we’ve grown since he got here and, you know, that’s what I’m excited about and I’m excited to keep that friendship for the rest of our lives.”
Harden has already been traded three times in his illustrious career: From the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Houston Rockets in 2012, from Houston to the Brooklyn Nets in 2021 and from Brooklyn to the 76ers in 2022.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral NBA stories via Google! Follow Us
Harden and Embiid formed a prolific scoring duo during their one and a half seasons together in Philly, but the club failed to advance past round two on both occasions. Following their second-round elimination at the hands of the Boston Celtics in May, Philly fired head coach Doc Rivers and replaced him with ex-Toronto Raptors HC Nick Nurse.
Losing Harden would be a tough blow for a 76ers team that is built in win-now mode, and getting equal value in return for a future Hall of Famer is easier said than done. Philly surely won’t just give Harden away, so there’s definitely a possibility he at least begins the 2023-24 season with the 76ers until an offer to their liking comes along.
