James Harden is essentially burning all his bridges with the Philadelphia 76ers and is ready to skip training camp to try to force a trade, but his plan may run into a significant obstacle.
ESPN’s Bobby Marks highlighted one clause in the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement that could impact Harden’s situation. The so-called “Withholding Services” clause essentially states that any player that holds out for more than 30 days at the start of the season will not have the season count towards his contract. In other words, Harden, who is entering the final year of his deal, would not be able to become a free agent unless the 76ers decided not to enforce the clause.
Here’s the CBA language for Withholding Services:
Withholding services: A player who withholds playing services called for by a Player Contract for more than thirty (30) days after the start of the last Season covered by his Player Contract shall be deemed not to have… https://t.co/EEJkn73LZG
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) August 14, 2023
Previous reports have indicated that Harden has no intention of reporting to training camp with the 76ers. That would count as him withholding services from the team.
In a video, Marks noted that the situation is rather unprecedented. The clause is not a new one, but did not apply to previous situations such as the Ben Simmons holdout because Simmons had four years left on his deal at the time.
Marks also pointed out that the situation may not give the 76ers as much leverage as it would initially seem. If Harden’s deal rolls over for another season, the 76ers would still have it count as a cap hold, which would eat into their available money next offseason unless they renounced Harden. That does not serve the franchise’s interests, so Marks suggested that some sort of compromise may be necessary, if not inevitable, to sort out the situation.
Harden publicly went scorched earth on the 76ers Monday, which may make a compromise more difficult. Both sides have advantages here, but also key disadvantages.
