The Philadelphia 76ers and president Daryl Morey have been dealing with drama surrounding James Harden for months. It is now Media Day and the start of training camp, yet there is no telling as to what the immediate future holds for the former league MVP.

With all of the chatter surrounding Harden being unhappy that he was not traded this offseason, the 10-time All-Star elected not to attend Media Day on Monday. This is obviously the key talking point in Philadelphia ahead of the 2023-24 season and Morey was one of the first to address the issue at hand with the media.

“He continues to seek a trade and we're working with his representation to resolve that in the best way for the 76ers and hopefully all parties involved ” Morey quickly stated, via ClutchPoints' Sam DiGiovanni. “We expect him to participate in everything like every other player.”

Harden opted into his $35.6 million player option for the 2023-24 season ahead of the start of free agency this offseason and immediately requested a trade from Philadelphia. Based on what the star guard has said, he claims Morey and the Sixers lied about giving him a long-term extension this summer after taking a pay cut last offseason. This is the reasoning for Harden wanting a trade.

All offseason long, Harden has remained adamant on his trade request and he only seems to want to play for the Los Angeles Clippers. At this time, the Sixers and Clippers have not come close to making a trade and interest around the league in Harden is extremely low.

Since the start of the 2019-20 season, Harden has been a part of three different franchise and has not spent two full seasons with a team since being traded from the Houston Rockets in 2021. If he was to be traded again, his new team would be Harden's fourth organization in the last four years.

The 76ers still believe that they have a championship contending roster, especially with reigning league MVP healthy and motivated entering training camp. They still view Harden as an essential part of the team, which is why this standoff between him and management is ongoing.

Daryl Morey has not clarified whether or not the team will tolerate Harden's absence and what punishments he may face as a result of staying away from the team.

In 58 games with the Sixers during the 2022-23 season, Harden averaged 21.0 points, 10.7 assists and 6.1 rebounds per game while shooting 44.1 percent from the floor and 38.5 percent from three-point range. His 10.7 assists per game average led the league.