The Philadelphia 76ers have made their decision on James Harden's trade demand: they have ended the talks to move the star guard and plan to bring him to training camp. However, it's worth noting that it's only the Sixers' stance. As for Harden himself, he reportedly remains firm on leaving the City of Brotherly Love.

According to the latest rumors, while the Sixers want to bring Harden to camp, the 2018 NBA MVP has no plans to take part in it, per Sam Amick of The Athletic. He's done with the team, and Daryl Morey and co. cannot expect him to commit to anything when it comes to their plans for him and the franchise.

“No matter what signals the Sixers might send when it comes to trade talks, a source close to Harden reiterated that the 10-time All-Star and former MVP no longer wants to play for Philadelphia and has no plans of taking part in training camp,” Amick wrote in his article.

“Does that mean he won't report if a deal doesn't go down by that point, or that he'll make a messy spectacle of his training camp arrival like he did when he was trying to get out of Houston back in December of 2020? That part remains unclear, with Harden’s side still expressing a belief that there will be meaningful developments on the trade talk front before that time comes. The source spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.”

Of course this update isn't really a big surprise considering that James Harden has made it clear that he wants out of Philadelphia. He wanted to go to the Los Angeles Clippers, but as reported earlier, the talks between Philly and LA when it comes to a trade has not gained any traction at all.

The Sixers are now facing an awkward situation with Harden. While they might be able to force him to go to training camp, no one knows what he'll try to pull off.

After the news of Philly's refusal to trade Harden surfaced, several fans joked that Harden could try to do the same thing he did when he demanded a trade away from the Houston Rockets. Back in 2020, Harden headed to training camp unmotivated and looking out of shape. And then when Houston finally dealt him, he miraculously returned to his physique quickly–leading to many NBA fans assuming he wore a “fat suit.”

It remains to be seen what will really happen come training camp, but things aren't really looking great for the Sixers.

Sixers-James Harden trade saga

It's understandable why the Sixers want to keep James Harden. They still believe that him and Joel Embiid have what it takes to lead the franchise to championship, and so they are hopeful to fix their relationship and make it work in a bid to contend for the title.

As for Harden, he's unhappy that the Sixers didn't offer him a long-term max contract that he feels he deserves. While he did pick up his $35.6 million option with the franchise, he did so with the desire to make his trade to the Clippers happen. Obviously with Philly not listening to his trade demand, he's widely expected to take drastic actions to force his way out.

Morey has been in the same situation before, and it did end up ugly. With everything happening, history could repeat itself with the Sixers.