Knicks seek over $10M in damages from Raptors

James Harden and the Philadelphia 76ers remain in limbo as no team appears prepared to pay anything close to Daryl Morey’s current asking price. The Sixers are believed to be asking for a lot for Harden because they feel comfortable with the idea of him returning to the team next season.

“His asking price is exorbitant,” said Adrian Wojnarowski of Morey. “Teams are not engaging the Sixers with the kind of asks that Daryl Morey is asking for James Harden. That’s where Daryl Morey always starts in trade talks, really high. Over time, perhaps, you work him back down.

“But like Ben Simmons, there’s hope on the Sixers’ side that eventually, at some point, they can get James Harden on board about being in Philadelphia in the last year of this deal. This opt-in that he did at $35.6 million. Now they may get to training camp and it may look different in Philly. They may have a James Harden who is not as enthusiastic about his return as they are. And then maybe they get more serious about it.

“But right now, I think the Harden talks, like Lillard, are going to linger into the summer.”

The Los Angeles Clippers and Harden are believed to have mutual interest.

Following the Philadelphia 76ers victory over the Dallas Mavericks, James Harden addressed his recent absences due to left Achilles soreness. The Sixers guard said it’s something he’s been dealing with for longer than previously known.

“I don’t know where it came from. It’s been bothering me for some months, I would say,” Harden said. “I just wanted to continue to play on it, and there was one point to where the last game I played, [it was] just really unbearable so I couldn’t even go out there.”

Harden was spotted limping off the court following the 76ers overtime loss to the Chicago Bulls on March 21. The star guard then missed Philadelphia’s next four games. Harden said the injury is something he’ll be monitoring for the remainder of the season.

“After the game, I went into the weight room and did some tendon-loading and things like that, for the Achilles, my lower body, my calves, things like that,” Harden said. “Tomorrow I’ll do something, after the game [against Toronto], Friday I’ll do something, it’s just making sure I’m on it.”