NBA investigating if 76ers, James Harden violated participation policy

The NBA has initiated an investigation to determine if the Philadelphia 76ers and their guard, James Harden, have violated the new player participation policy during their highly anticipated opening night national television game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday, according to a league spokesperson who spoke with ESPN.

“We are currently examining the circumstances surrounding James Harden’s absence tonight in order to ascertain whether there is a valid reason for his non-participation,” stated Michael Bass, an official spokesperson for the league.

Harden’s situation presents a fascinating early challenge for the league’s recently implemented regulations aimed at ensuring star players are available for national television games. Despite returning to the team after a personal leave of absence spanning 10 days, the Sixers made the decision to keep Harden in Philadelphia. Team sources have revealed that this choice was made with the intention of allowing Harden to optimize his game fitness by working with the Sixers’ development coaches and medical staff at the team’s practice facility.

According to sources, although Harden expressed a desire to travel with the team for their opening road trip to Milwaukee and Toronto, the Sixers believed that his extended time away made him physically unprepared to play. In addition to his 10-day absence, it is worth noting that Harden only participated in one preseason scrimmage on October 7th in Boston, further raising concerns about his readiness for the start of the regular season.

The NBA’s player participation policy does provide teams and players with exemptions for injuries, personal reasons, and “rare and unusual circumstances.” A first offense by a team could result in a fine of $100,000, and penalties increase for subsequent violations.

It is speculated that Harden’s decision to be away from the team is at least partially related to his dissatisfaction with the organization’s failure to fulfill his request for a trade to the LA Clippers. Despite exercising his $35.6 million player option for this season, Harden promptly demanded a trade.

Sources have indicated that after months of negotiations, the Clippers have recently withdrawn from talks to acquire Harden. However, the possibility of revisiting those discussions later in the season remains, as the organization plans to evaluate the team’s performance with healthy stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George over the next few weeks, as per insider sources.

Bobby Marks of ESPN contributed to this report.