Los Angeles—Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden was ruled out of this weekend’s NBA All-Star Game on Monday, the league said in a statement.
Harden, who joined the Sixers last week in a stunning trade from the Brooklyn Nets, will be replaced by Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen on LeBron James’ team.
The Sixers said Harden would also miss the team’s final two games before the All-Star break — against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday and Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday.
Harden is still recovering from a hamstring strain that forced him to miss multiple games with Brooklyn before he was traded away last week.
Harden had been selected by team captain James after being ignored by former Nets team-mate Kevin Durant during selection of the All-Star line-ups last Thursday.
The All-Star game takes place on Sunday in Cleveland.
Meanwhile, guard Tyreke Evans has been reinstated by the National Basketball Association, almost three years after being banned for violating the league’s anti-drug programme.
The 32-year-old American became eligible for reinstatement last year and was officially reinstated on Monday which means he can now start negotiating with teams.
Evans last played for the Indiana Pacers in 2018-19, averaging 10.2 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. In 594 career games, he has averaged 15.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists.
He was initially slapped with a two-year ban on May 17, 2019 after testing positive for a “drug of abuse”. He is the first player to be suspended and reinstated since Chris Andersen’s reinstatement in 2008.
Evans was the 2010 NBA rookie of the year with the Sacramento Kings (2009-2013). He also had stints with New Orleans (2013-2017), Sacramento (2017), Memphis (2017-2018) before joining the Pacers for one season.
Evans was the fourth overall pick out of University of Memphis in the 2009 entry draft. After just one season with Memphis he decided to enter the NBA draft, opting to forgo his remaining three years of US college.
