James Harden Reunites With Sixers' Daryl Morey

Landing James Harden has been a long time coming for the Philadelphia 76ers. Last season, when the Houston Rockets had no choice but to shop Harden around as he grew disgruntled, the Sixers attempted to jump to the front of the line to snag him.

Daryl Morey, who used to run the Rockets’ front office, joined the Sixers’ organization as the President of Basketball Operations. Therefore, he attempted to reunite with Harden in Philadelphia. It was a two-team race between the Sixers and the Brooklyn Nets to land the former MVP’s services.

Ultimately, Harden was shipped off to the Nets to form a superstar trio along with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Fast forward a little over a year since Harden landed in Brooklyn, and the star guard grew disgruntled with his situation with the Nets.

In the weeks leading up to the NBA trade deadline, Harden made it clear he was unsure of his future in Brooklyn. While it seemed he was willing to work it out with the Nets for the rest of the year, it quickly became apparent that wasn’t the case.

The Sixers entered negotiations with the Nets throughout the final week of the trade market being open. While it took a lot of wheeling and dealing for Morey, he eventually got the deal done and shipped a package centered around Ben Simmons to the Nets in exchange for Harden and the veteran, Paul Millsap.

When the Sixers returned to the floor on Friday night to face the Oklahoma City Thunder, Harden wasn’t with the team just yet. And while he’s not expected to be with the Sixers once again on Saturday when they face the Cleveland Cavaliers, Harden finally arrived and reunited with Morey officially on Saturday.

This weekend, Harden will undergo physicals. According to team officials, Harden will not make his debut this weekend. While Doc Rivers and the Sixers couldn’t confirm Harden’s return date yet, a possible debut on Tuesday against the Boston Celtics hasn’t been ruled out. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.