Morey 'attempting to honor' Harden's trade request, wants right return

James Harden might be stuck in Philadelphia for the time being.

The 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey says he will not trade the veteran guard until the right return presents itself.

"James is a very good player," Morey told Anthony Gargano on 97.5 The Fanatic. "Right now, unfortunately, he does prefer to be somewhere else. I do have a long relationship with him, and I am attempting to honor that."

Morey added that the franchise has very high expectations for a trade offer. "If we don’t get either a very good player or something we can turn into a very good player, then we will just not do it," he said.

Harden reportedly requested a trade at the end of June after accepting his $35.6-million player option. The Los Angeles Clippers are one of the teams interested in the 33-year-old.

Morey also confirmed the reason Harden wants out of Philadelphia.

“He is wishing for a different situation contractually. That has been the main desire for looking for a new situation. At this point, if we can do something that is win–win, we will look at it. But if we can't, then we won't.”

Joel Embiid also discussed his future earlier this week, expressing his desire to win a championship - either in Philadelphia or with another team. Morey later spoke with Embiid, with the 29-year-old clarifying that he only wants to win a ring with the Sixers.

Philadelphia has had a relatively quiet offseason. The club re-signed Paul Reed and Montrezl Harrell and added Patrick Beverley, Mo Bamba, and Filip Petrusev. However, the team lost key rotational pieces in Shake Milton, Georges Niang, and Jalen McDaniels.