Embiid says he hopes Harden’s ‘mindset can be changed,’ values their friendship originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
As things stand, Joel Embiid has a single complete season together with James Harden.
It’s uncertain whether the duo’s run will end there. While Harden exercised his $35.6 million player option for the 2023-24 season, he asked the Sixers to explore trades. The 33-year-old is still on the team, though, and Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey certainly isn’t known to rush into trades that he feels bring back insufficient value.
Embiid, who answered questions at training camp two years ago about Ben Simmons’ holdout, now isn’t sure what’s next with Harden.
Both stars were at a party Saturday night in Las Vegas co-hosted by Fanatics and the National Basketball Players Association. Showtime’s Rachel Nichols asked Embiid there about how he felt when he learned of Harden’s stance.
“Disappointed,” Embiid said. “But then again, I also understand it’s business. People make decisions. I’m more appreciative of the way he handled the whole situation. We’re going to be boys forever. I want him to come back, obviously, so that we can go out and accomplish what we want, which is to win a championship. So hopefully his mindset can be changed.
“But other than that, I’m just so happy to be his friend. We’re close, and we’ve grown since he got here. That’s what I’m excited about. I’m excited to keep that friendship for the rest of our lives.”
Embiid led the NBA in scoring for a second straight time (and won MVP) last season, while Harden dished out a league-best 10.7 assists per game. Neither performed well enough to lift the Sixers past the second round of the playoffs after the team took a 3-2 series lead over the Celtics.
It sounds like they’ll stay friends regardless, but we’ll wait and see whether the two continue to share the floor.
“We’re only one year in,” Harden said following the Sixers’ Game 7 loss in Boston. “We played against a team that’s been together for quite a few years now. They were in the Finals last year, so they kind of know what it takes to go back there. This is only Year 1 for us — a full year. It was great.”