Shams Charania reported James Harden didn't show up to the Philadelphia 76ers' practice on Wednesday, Oct. 18. The star hasn't been with the team since Sunday. In fact, according to reports, Harden isn't even in Philadelphia. All of this is part of Harden's attempt to force a trade to the Los Angeles Clippers. This is, however, a risky play on Harden's part.
This August, Harden was fined $100,000 for calling Sixers president Daryl Morey as a "liar." While many argued that $100K was a drop in the bucket, if Harden continues to no-show, he could face a much larger fine.
As far as Harden's punishment goes, ESPN's Bobby Marks reported, "James Harden could be subjected to a $389,082 fine for every preseason and regular season game he misses." In addition, "there's also a minimal fine (starting at $2500) for missing practice." That practice fine, by the way, stands to increase. According to the CBA, Harden would be fined $2,500 for the first missed practice, $5,000 for the second, $7,500 for the third, and for fourth and beyond an amount, "reasonable under the circumstances,"
Harden hasn't attended a 76ers preseason game yet. Additionally, James Herbert of CBS Sports recently revealed the star missed practice again today, Oct. 19. With that said, what happens when you take the number Bobby Marks provided and you multiply it by four? The result is just north of $1.5 million dollars, and that's without accounting for missed practices.
Even if Harden shows up on Friday, he will still owe over a million based on Mark's numbers. However, Harden's attendance seems unlikely considering ESPN's Ramona Shelburne reported Wednesday "this is only the beginning of what he plans to do here." and Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports also tweeted.
The Sixers play their last preseason game on Friday Oct. 20 against the Atlanta Hawks. Spotrac estimates Harden's career earnings to be around $340 million.
Per the new CBA:
"A player who withholds playing services called for by a Player Contract for more than thirty (30) days after the start of the last Season covered by his Player Contract shall be deemed not to have "complet[ed] his Player Contract by rendering the playing services called for thereunder." Accordingly, such a player shall not be a Veteran Free Agent and shall not be entitled to negotiate or sign a Player Contract with any other professional basketball team unless and until the Team for which the player last played expressly agrees otherwise"
In other words, if Harden continues to no-show into early November, and the team doesn't trade him at any point this season, the Sixers would be able to block him from becoming a free agent next summer. While this outcome seems unlikely, the showdown between Harden and the Sixers continues. After all, Harden is 2-0 when it comes to forcing himself off teams. It will be interesting to see how the situation plays out between both sides.