Embedded in this story…the Sixers decision to pull back from trade talks after being unable to find a deal they believe will work for them, is a new pattern emerging across the league: One in which general managers may stop acquiescing to star players who demand to leave to the team of their choice while under contract without the right price coming back in return.
It's playing out, under different circumstances, in Portland, where GM Joe Cronin has held firm in the face of star Damian Lillard wanting to go to the Miami Heat and only the Miami Heat.
Enough people in Cronin and Morey's shoes have taken note of places like Brooklyn, where giving in to stars' trade demands — ironically, including Harden's in 2022 — has only left wreckage for teams and the careers of some who had the misfortune to be collateral damage.
"The history of All-Star players moving on when they're unhappy is 80-90% bad for the teams trading them," one GM told CBS sports. "There is a shift in thinking."
