Former Sixers part-owner Michael Rubin was on the Pat Bev Pod and was asked about the James Harden and Sixers situation. There would be no situation if he was still there:

Now obviously Rubin is removed from the situation, so how much does he know about the inner workings that we don’t know? It’s probably a bunch of he said/she said bullshit back and forth that he’s hearing from both parties. But  what does he mean by, “It wouldn’t have happened?” Would he have paid James Harden what he wanted? Because that would’ve been insane. Now I’m curious how involved Rubin was in the Jimmy Butler/Tobias Harris situation. Because Tobias is at all the Rubin parties in the Hamptons and the charity events he throws. Was this Rubin taking care of his guy and letting Jimmy walk and Elton Brand has just been a good soldier this whole time? I know I’m speculating, but I think this is the first time I’m happy Rubin isn’t part of the ownership anymore. We’d be dealing with 37 year old Harden on a max deal.

Has the situation been handled well? Absolutely not. But as annoying as this summer got we were still left with the best possible scenario we could’ve hoped for. An opt in and we try to find a trade partner to get assets for one last championship run. I could’ve lived without Harden publicly calling his GM a liar, but Daryl Morey was already an enemy in China anyway so who cares. It’d be like Howard Eskin going on those two 49ers radio hosts show and calling us a “useless website.” Oh wait he already did that.

Credit to Harden though if he actually came to camp in great shape. He could’ve easily come into camp in the fat suit and torpedoed his stock: