James Harden trade talks have reportedly bogged down and the Philadelphia 76ers plan to keep the 2018 NBA Most Valuable Player for now when the 2023-24 season starts.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the Sixers ended trade talks with the Los Angeles Clippers on a possible James Harden trade.

It will be recalled that “The Beard” picked up the $35.6 million player option he had with the 76ers back in June. However, Harden requested to be traded before this.

Hence, the move by the 10-time All-Star is seen as nothing more than to make sure that his financial side was addressed. Had he become an unrestricted free agent, Harden would have ended up without a huge payday.

So when the new NBA season starts, the 33-year-old scoring guard is expected to be on the Sixers roster for now. However, there is still a chance that a James Harden trade may happen at some point moving forward.

If no James Harden trade happens by the NBA trade deadline, the third overall pick of the 2009 NBA Draft may have to wait until next summer to find out where he will play next.

“If we don’t get either a very good player or something we can turn into a very good player, we’re just not going to do it,” Sixers general manager Daryl Morey said to The Fanatic back in July.

A swap for either Paul George or Kawhi Leonard seemed to be the only logical move for the Clippers. But even if that would have happened, the Los Angeles Clippers do not appear any closer to being an NBA title contender, CBS Sports pointed out.

The James Harden storyline is expected to pick up once the regular season starts. For now, he has yet to comment on the botched trade or given any inclination of sitting out unless he gets moved out of Philly. Expect the James Harden trade talks to move up a notch in the coming months.