Joel Embiid was out in Las Vegas attending Michael Rubin’s Fanatics Summer League party in Las Vegas over the weekend and spoke with Rachel Nichols about his good friend James Harden.

Harden opted in to his $35.6 million player option to return to the Philadelphia 76ers next season. At the time, Harden was expected to be traded, but as of this morning, the Sixers haven’t managed to find an acceptable offer to send Harden out of town.

Joel Embiid on James Harden

“Disappointed,” Embiid said. “But then again, I also understand it’s business. People make decisions. I’m more appreciative of the way he’s handled the whole situation. We’re going to be boys forever. I want him to come back, obviously, so that we can go out and accomplish what we want, which is to win a championship. So hopefully his mindset can be changed.”

“But other than that, I’m just so happy to be his friend. We’re close, and we’ve grown since he got here. That’s what I’m excited about. I’m excited to keep that friendship for the rest of our lives.”

Embiid, the reigning NBA MVP and back-to-back scoring champion hasn’t spoke much about the current state of the 76ers since the playoffs ended against the Boston Celtics in yet another disappointing second round exit. 

Good to hear from Embiid, but hard to be happy about the current state of the Philadelphia 76ers.

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