Paul Reed said that Nick Nurse planned to mold him into a "Pascal Siakam-type player" during an interview for Sixers Wire.

“I’ve talked to him plenty of times and it’s always been kind of the same kind of idea. He talked about molding me into a Pascal Siakam-type player. Somebody who can kind of do it all. Shoot the ball, drive, pass, but right now, it’s all about focusing on my shot mechanics," said Reed about his conversations with Nurse.

The Sixers matched a three-year, $23 million offer sheet from the Jazz for Reed this offseason.

Reed added that he was getting more comfortable with a change in his jumper mechanics.

“I’m feeling more confident. More confident every day. Just about changing my shot mechanics a little bit. That’s all they’ve been focusing on and I’m getting more and more comfortable every day.”

The Philadelphia 76ers have agreed to hire Mike Longabardi as head coach of the Delaware Blue Coats of the G League.

Longabardi has been an NBA assistant coach since 2003. Longabardi spent last season with the Atlanta Hawks.

The Sacramento Kings never offered Tyrese Haliburton as part of a package to the Philadelphia 76ers for Ben Simmons, sources told Marc Stein.

The Kings were rumored to be interested in trading for Simmons during the 21-22 season and eventually traded Haliburton for Domantas Sabonis.

The Kings turned into a playoff team last season with Sabonis having an All-NBA season, while Haliburton emerged as an All-Star with the Indiana Pacers and would have likely been a better long-term fit for the Sixers than James Harden. 

Haliburton signed a five-year designated max extension with the Pacers that could be worth up to $260 million.

A report this week indicated James Harden plans to report to camp with the Philadelphia 76ers and additional information Zach Lowe gleaned from the NBA's collective bargaining agreement could explain why that is his position. Harden continues to want a trade from the Sixers with the Los Angeles Clippers his preferred team.

"There's an obscure clause in the collective bargaining agreement that says the following: 'A player who is in the last year of his contract.' Okay, so that's James Harden. He's on an expiring contract," said Zach Lowe on his podcast.

"'Who withholds his playing services for more than 30 days after the start of the last season covered by his contract shall be deemed', I'm paraphrasing now, 'should be deemed to have violated his contract. Accordingly, such a player shall not be a veteran free agent and shall not be entitled to negotiate or sign a contract with any other professional basketball team unless and until the team from which the player last played expressly agrees otherwise.'

"I was alerted to that clause by people who would know what it means. And then I checked with other people who would know what it means and I said 'Am I an idiot or does this say he doesn't actually show up, the Sixers, because he's on an expiring contract, can block him in perpetuity from signing in the NBA?'

"And I checked with legal people and cap people and team people and whatever people, and the answer every time was 'Yes. And not only the NBA, any other professional basketball teams means exactly what you think it is.

"So if you just read that, that's why I made the comment about James' quote showing his ass as you put it, because given that reality, if he's not traded, he kind of has to show up and we know what happens if he shows up and he's unhappy because we've seen it over and over again."

The clause Lowe references in the collective bargaining agreement is from Article XI, Section 3.

Players in the NBA have rarely held out while actively under contract and will typically agitate for a trade while ostensibly with the team. Ben Simmons reported to practice with the Sixers in 2021 before he stepped away from the team in their standoff. Lowe also reported this week that Simmons received credit for a year of service for the 21-22 season despite not appearing in any games.

Ben Simmons received credit for a year of service during the 2021-22 season, sources told Zach Lowe of ESPN.

Simmons held out from the Sixers at the start of the season before getting traded to the Nets. Simmons then continued to sit for the Nets before undergoing back surgery in April 2022.

Counting the season, Simmons has now served seven years in the league.

There were officials from several teams who argued Simmons should not be credited for the year.

The decision is intended as a standalone ruling for Simmons' situation and is not intended to set a future precedent. 

Bryan Gates joined the Philadelphia 76ers coaching staff, sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Gates, who spent the last two seasons with the Suns, had recently joined Jason Kidd's staff with the Mavs. 

Joel Embiid and Daryl Morey touched base to discuss his future with the Philadelphia 76ers after the reigning MVP talked about his focus on winning a title "whether it's in Philly or anywhere else."

Embiid wants to remain with the Sixers and win a title with the franchise. Both the Sixers and Embiid envision him remaining the face of the franchise 

The Sixers have no plans to entertain trade discussions involving Embiid.

James Harden remains singularly focused on playing for the Los Angeles Clippers this coming season, sources tell Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. But sources also add that Harden currently plans to report to training camp with the Philadelphia 76ers if no trade materializes by then.

Harden previously made both the Houston Rockets and Brooklyn Nets feel like they had no option but to trade him previously while in the building.

There have been no substantive trade talks on Harden between the Sixers any any team other than the Clippers. Rival front offices have been briefed that Harden is committed to playing for the Clippers and his camp maintains a confidence he will eventually be traded there.

Daryl Morey went on record to indicate that the Philadelphia 76ers are attempting to honor the trade request of James Harden. The Sixers and Harden are in a stalemate after he exercised his option for 23-24 at $35.6 million, which makes him ineligible for a long-term extension.

“But the reality is, if we do look at a trade, it’s going to be for one of two things,” Morey said Tuesday on The Anthony Gargano Show on 97.5 The Fanatic. “It’s either going to be for a player who continues to help us be right there like we were last year, up three-two on one of the best teams in the East in the Celtics.”

While Morey is willing to trade Harden, he doesn't appear willing to do so for a package that doesn't at least make them as good as they were last season.

“If we don’t get a very good player or something we can turn into a very good player, then we’re just not going to do it,” Morey said. “And if James were to turn his mind around, we would all be thrilled. But at this moment he does prefer to be traded, and we are attempting to honor that.”

On the most recent episode of The Lowe Post podcast, ESPN's Zach Lowe touched on the James Harden trade situation. Lowe said things with Harden's trade request are at "a total stalemate".

"There’s only really one team that he wants to go to, and that team is the Clippers," Lowe said. "Their level of engagement here to me is unclear/not super enthusiastic."

Lowe also said the chances of Harden returning to the Philadelphia 76ers seems unlikely as of now.

"I don’t know what to make of the possibility that Harden would ever go back to Philly. I continue to hear from people who would know that the bridge is burned," Lowe said. "But that’s what people who would know would say on July 17, with two months or whatever before training camp."