James Harden's chances of being traded just took another turn down the wrong path. While Harden has tried to open up his window of preferable destinations should he be traded, most teams aren't taking the bait at the moment. One of those teams would be the Philadelphia 76ers, who also rank at the top of the former MVP's list.

While the Sixers would openly welcome Harden's services into their championship aspirations, Daryl Morey and Elton Brand aren't willing to mortgage the farm in order to get it done. According to The Athletic's Sam Amick, Philly will play the waiting game with Harden as they await the development of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid in head coach Doc Rivers' system:

“Sources say the Sixers want to see what new coach Doc Rivers can do with this new roster and have no urgency to pay anything more than a discount-aisle price for Harden anytime soon,” wrote Amick. “Translation: Two-time All-Star and third-team All-NBA selection Ben Simmons remains off-limits, and these next few weeks will be spent evaluating this revamped group.”

Rivers stated that he'd approach the Embiid-Simmons duo in a different manner to harness all of their potential this season. Taking a risk on Harden may prove to be a downfall in their development if the co-stars can flourish in Rivers' system and storm the rankings in the Eastern Conference.

As for Harden, things haven't been going right lately with his daring plan to escape Houston. Along with the Sixers, the Milwaukee Bucks reportedly have no interest in Harden given the chemistry issues he'd present, according to Amick.

As his list of destinations continue to dwindle, the reality of Harden playing another season with Houston slowly becomes reality.