CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers-James Harden situation has taken a sharp turn into being contentious again. The Sixers guard skipped the first practice following their latest preseason game to the surprise of the team. Any doubt that he would suit up for Philadelphia in the regular season has grown tenfold.

Joel Embiid spoke to reporters after the Sixers' Wednesday practice and surmised that Harden had something come up that led him to miss time with the team. Harden has reportedly been in Houston since Sunday, attending the team's practice earlier in the day but not traveling with them when they faced the Brooklyn Nets on Monday.

“I didn't know if anything was going on because he's been here,” Embiid said. “So he wasn't here today, so obviously I think he probably had something important to do or something came up. But you know, guys know what it is. I've always went on the floor and led by example, just by playing hard and pushing myself and also pushing them. And that's what we did today. We played together, we competed, we pushed each other.”

When asked if he expects Harden to play for the Sixers again, Embiid wasn’t sure. The Sixers' big man said that he aims to stay away from the conversations between Harden and the team.

Head coach Nick Nurse said previously that the Sixers were prepared to play whether or not Harden decides to show up. Embiid said that the team is indeed prepared for either scenario, saying that the mixing of lineups in practice has helped.

Embiid, who has missed all three of the Sixers' preseason games to this point, said that he plans to play in the team's preseason finale on Friday at Wells Fargo Center against the Atlanta Hawks. When Nurse spoke after practice, he added that he expects Harden to play, which Harden indicated he was trying to do last week.