Rubin: Harden drama 'wouldn't have happened' if I was still with 76ers

Former Philadelphia 76ers minority owner Michael Rubin isn't pleased with the team's handling of James Harden.

Rubin, who sold his stake in the 76ers and the NHL's New Jersey Devils in 2022, explained how he would've approached the situation with Harden on Wednesday's episode of the "The Pat Bev Podcast with Rone."

"It wouldn't have happened," the Fanatics founder said. "First of all, James is family to me, and I'm not going to hide about that ... I love James. This thing is breaking my heart. I have huge respect for (76ers owner) Josh Harris; I'm very close with Josh. This thing was just not handled well."

Harden opted into his $35.6-million player option in June in the hopes of being dealt by the 76ers, but Philadelphia took him off the trade market in August. The 10-time NBA All-Star responded by calling 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey a "liar" and vowing to never play for him again.

Rubin went on to speak about Harden's desire to win an NBA championship and defended his decision to leave the Houston Rockets to join Kevin Durant on the Brooklyn Nets in 2021.

"There's nobody who wants to win a championship more than James Harden," Rubin said. "I know this guy like my brother. He's dying to win a championship, and people can give him shit about wanting to be out of Houston ... it's a natural thing for someone if they know, 'Hey, I've done everything I can for a franchise to try to win, and I can't win there so I want a change.' That's why he left Houston. I respect that."

Harden was absent for the 76ers' media day and the first day of training camp but has since rejoined the team. He didn't play in the team's preseason opener and has also been ruled out for Wednesday's game against the Boston Celtics.