With the Philadelphia 76ers completing a trade that sent James Harden to the Los Angeles Clippers, there are questions about whether the 76ers can remain contenders in the Eastern Conference this season, and Patrick Beverley recently explained why he believes the team can in his most recent podcast.

“I'm a basketball player, I've been on teams where, you know, the Kawhi's, the Paul George, James, the Dwights, you know what I'm saying, you need everybody,” Patrick Beverley said on the Pad Bev Pod. “But I mean, the way things are going and the way the ball is moving, and the way that, you know, you can't really key in on one or two guys like this. It's been good. Without 'em too we got to find a way to win games and be competitive also. And I think like the competitive nature won't allow you to think anything less than trying to be a contender.”

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Beverley clearly believes that the 76ers and Joel Embiid can still contend without James Harden this season, and he had a funny moment saying that he surprised himself with how well he answered the question.

“That was a great f***ing answer,” Beverley said on the Pad Bev Pod. “If there was any way to answer that hard a** question you just gave me, that was the perfect way.”

Beverley came to the 76ers to try to win with Joel Embiid, and he clearly still believes that the team is a competitor. It will be interesting to see how they fare without Harden.