Joel Embiid recently responded to James Harden's decision not to show up to the Philadelphia 76ers practice. In a post-practice interview, Embiid was asked how he makes sure everybodys on the same page despite everything going on with Harden. Embiid responded, "I didn't know if anything was going on becasue you know, he's not here. He wasn't here today, so obviously I think he probably had something important to do or something came up."
Joel Embiid responds to Harden's no-show at practice
While we can appreciate Embiid's diplomatic answer and him not adding more fuel to this Philadelphia 76ers' fire that's raged on all summer, it's clear he's a bit annoyed with the whole James Harden charade. He has something important to do? With the season less than a week away, practice is the most important thing right now for everyone, except Harden, apparently. The presumption going around the league is that Harden's absence is part of his strategy to end up on the Clippers.
According to Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer, Harden isn't even in the same state as the team.
In addition, ESPN's Ramona Shelburne reported Harden's absence was "unexcused" and "not communicated in advance."
Thankfully, Embiid isn't letting Harden's antics distract him from his job, which is to lead the 76ers. To Embiid's credit, he appears focused during practice despite Harden's absence.
"Guys know what it is," the reigning MVP said. "I've always went on the floor and led by example, lead by playing hard and, you know, pushing myself and also pushing them. And that's how we did today. We played together, we competed, we pushed each other." The same cannot be said about James Harden currently, and there's the shade.
