Joel Embiid Expresses Loyalty to Sixers Amid Harden Drama
The Sixers are in the worst place they have been during the whole Process era. At least when they were tanking, there was hope for the future. But now, fans…

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – MAY 11: 1James Harden #1 and Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers talk against the Boston Celtics during the third quarter in game six of the Eastern Conference Semifinals in the 2023 NBA Playoffs at Wells Fargo Center on May 11, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)The Sixers are in the worst place they have been during the whole Process era. At least when they were tanking, there was hope for the future. But now, fans have hit an all-time low in Sixers optimism. Five second-round exits in 6 years will do that. But to make it worse, we also have the James Harden drama. Harden wants to be traded, but there are no good trades to be made. So now Harden is basically holding the Sixers hostage. To make everything worse, unless they can work something out with Harden, this does not look like a winning roster right now. And that has fans concerned Joel Embiid may ask out.
But at least on that front, there is good news. Ramona Shelburne recently posted an entire story diving into the Harden and Sixers drama. Which is definitely worth checking out because as per usual with Ramona Shelburne, it is a fantastic article. But buried at the end of the story is a short paragraph, which should assuage fears Joel Embiid will ask out, at least for now.
"Thus far, Embiid has given the franchise assurances he is OK riding out the current drama with Harden, sources said. How long he gives them to resolve the matter remains to be seen."
It is good to see that Embiid is understanding of the situation the Sixers are in. Despite how last season ended, Embiid is still the best thing to happen to the Sixers in a long time. And if they lost him, they would be in serious trouble.
The rest of the article is less promising for the Sixers, as it exposes just how broken the relationship between Harden and the Sixers is. It is hard to see a way that all works out well for them. You don't come away from reading and thinking Harden is a reasonable person willing to make nice. But at the very least, Embiid is willing to ride out this awful situation, for now.
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The Sixers are in a very difficult position. James Harden wants out, and the trade offers they are reportedly getting back do not move the needle. They are coming off their 5th 2nd round exit in this era. They have next to no money to make any more moves in free agency. All of the above has led to fans losing patience a little bit with this Sixers team, and it is hard to blame them. And the man in charge of somehow fixing this situation is Sixers President of Basketball Operations, Daryl Morey. And today he joined The Anthony Gargano Show to discuss some of those issues surrounding the Sixers
What is Daryl Morey's plan to turn things around this summer? How does he see the James Harden situation panning out? What did Joel Embiid mean by his elsewhere comments? Can Nick Nurse make a big enough difference to get this team over the top? And how does he balance making the team better this year while also making sure they are good going forward too? Daryl Morey and Anthony Gargano got into all of that and more.