CAMDEN, N.J. — After several drama-filled months, the James Harden saga finally ended for the Philadelphia 76ers in the early hours of Tuesday morning, when ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the three-time NBA scoring champion would get his wish of being traded to the LA Clippers.
How did 76ers coach Nick Nurse react to the news? When he was called to be told about the deal, he was fast asleep.
«I did [get a call],» Nurse said with a smile after Tuesday's practice, «and I slept through it. But I did get up a couple hours later and came into the office.»
Once he did, Nurse woke up to a much different team — one that was without not only Harden but also forward P.J. Tucker, who had started the first three games, along with reserve forward Filip Petrusev.
Although the deal still has to be officially consummated — something that could happen as soon as Tuesday afternoon — the overarching view around the Philadelphia area was a sigh of relief that the standoff between Harden and the Sixers had ended.
But for Nurse and the 76ers, the claim was that the on-again, off-again nature of Harden's involvement over the past several weeks was only a minor distraction to their daily work. Tyrese Maxey officially inherits Harden's role as the point guard of the roster moving forward after a terrific first three games of the season.
«I think our group has been prepared,» Maxey said. «I think we've done a good job of keeping the main thing the main thing, and I think that's what's gotten us all to a solid start. We have some really good guys that are focused, that are determined to go out there and play and show what we can do, and [a] coach that's keeping our mind in the right place.»
Still, a cloud of uncertainty has been lifted from
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