“Every time I come here, the love is just like … it’s crazy, you know what I mean?” he said during his visit. “So I feel like they deserve to actually see me come play here. … Love is always crazy here.”

However, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that it “might not be as easy as Chinese fans would like” if Harden is not traded to another NBA team soon, and continues his stand-off with Morey.

“According to the collective bargaining agreement,” the Inquirer wrote, “any player who ‘withholds playing services for more than 30 days after the start of the last season covered by his contract’ could be deemed to have violated his contract and forbidden from entering free agency and signing with another professional team until the team he last played for ‘expressly agrees otherwise’.”

That has not stopped fans dreaming of seeing Harden suit up in the CBA, with the topic trending on the Twitter-like social media platform Weibo.

“The NBA has yet to have an MVP play in the CBA. If it really happens, it will be quite a [big moment] in history,” one commenter wrote.

Some expressed doubts Harden would come to China, as the league’s maximum annual salary of US$6 million would be a huge wage cut for Harden, whose current annual salary is US$35 million.

“His popularity in China is indeed high,” one person said.

One fan even floated the remote prospect of Harden switching allegiances like fellow NBA star Kyle Anderson – or Li Kaier, as he is now known in China – who has chosen the No 1 jersey ahead of the FIBA World Cup, which gets under way next week.

“Will he come to the CBA to give back to the fans like Tracy McGrady at the end of his career? Or directly plan to play for the Chinese men’s basketball team?” they said.

Another said “fans of CBA teams will be extremely excited” either way.

Harden told the Sixers he wanted to be traded on June 29, after picking up the US35.6 million player option on his contract for the 2023-24 season.

The Sixers reportedly agreed to help him move to the Los Angeles Clippers, but have told his agent they ended trade discussions and will bring him back for a preseason training camp – which prompted Harden’s outburst against Morey.

Basketball commentator Kendrick Perkins warned Harden he could be out of the NBA soon, however, if he does not soften his stance.

“James Harden may lose everything,” Perkins said on ESPN. “If he Is not careful, he may not be in this league after next season.

“You can’t trust him. In the past four or five years, he has been in the Rockets, the Nets and the 76ers, he is very dissatisfied.

“The NBA does not need him. The NBA does not need anyone. This league can give up the old superstars, and every year a lot of young superstars come to the league. They can replace him, the NBA will look forward.”

Harden has received support from some of his peers, though, including four-time NBA champion Andre Iguadola, who said it was a “great move” criticising Morey in Beijing “because there’s a history there with China”.

Then-Houston Rockets general manager Morey incensed the country when he tweeted in support of the 2019 Hong Kong anti-government protests – a move which led to a blackout of NBA coverage for the 2019-20 season in China.

“When you go into a contract negotiation, know what your value [is] and how you can leverage yourself,” Iguodala added. “Know what opportunities you have on the other side, your safety net.”