James Harden

Several factors have contributed to Philadelphia's strong start to the season.

After the Philadelphia 76ers moved James Harden to Los Angels in a blockbuster trade, the compensation begs the question, what's next?

And so, on the day that he was expected back at practice in anticipation of a potential season debut on Thursday, James Harden is instead packing his bags for Los Angeles.

Tyrese Maxey, Kelly Oubre. Jr. and Jaden Springer have all been bright spots.

Things didn't work out between Harden and the 76ers, and that should surprise no one.

For now, Harden is saying the right things. We'll see if that holds up in the throes of a playoff series.

The Sixers will have an opportunity to test it out on Sunday in their first preseason game. They flew to Boston after Friday's practice. They'll have a heavy practice on Saturday, and take on the Celtics in TD Garden the next day.

Harden did not address the elephant in the room with his teammates. He did talk to Nurse before practice.

When posed with the news that Harden is expected to join the team as soon as Wednesday, Nurse's first reaction, both in words and facial expression, was telling and perhaps indicative of how their player-coach interaction could play out.

Just as Beverley hasn't seen anything he hasn't already experienced before, he expects that his teammates know exactly what he's bringing to the table despite not all having played with him before.