Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden bashes 76ers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey after reports emerged that trade talks have been extinguished for the 10-time All Star.
Videos hit social media this morning of Harden addressing a crowd at an Adidas media event in China, calling Morey a liar and a man that he refuses to work with moving forward.
"Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he's a part of," Harden said.
Harden had a decision to make heading into free agency. The final year remaining on his current contract was a player option worth $35.6 million. Harden opted in, but he had little intentions of playing this season in Philly, requesting a trade in late June. Reports suggest that the 33-year-old was ultimately looking for a new long-term contract over anything else. Harden sprinkled easter eggs around the league all season long that he had interest in reuniting with Houston, where he produced All Star caliber seasons for eight years.
Perhaps Harden had a sudden change in heart since he requested a trade from the Rockets in 2020, or some might suggest it was an attempt to gain leverage over the front office in Philly leading to another max-contract. If Harden truly felt he was capable of receiving another max deal, he could have declined his player-option and entered free agency.
It seems that Morey and Philly honored Harden's trade request, engaging in conversation with Harden's desired destination of the Los Angeles Clippers. However, when engaging in trade talks over a player with that much financial responsibility, it can be very difficult to get a deal done. Especially a fair one at that matter.
In order to get these deals done involving a player of Harden's talent, you have to be willing to take on a bad contract to make the money work. However mid-level players to push the needle, so you bargain for enough draft capital to make the trade benefit your organizations future. The issue with Philly regarding this trade package is that they are in the contending state of mind after claiming the 4-seed in the East led by the league MVP Joel Embiid just a season ago. The organization hasn't hit the big red button to enter rebuild mode, so giving up an established on-court asset in Harden for mid-level player(s) and a couple of future first-round draft picks just doesn't make sense.
It is unclear what the outcome of this situation will be, but Brandon and I have some theories. Catch 'In The Zone' on 96.9 The Game from 3-6 p.m. for a full breakdown on the latest Harden drama. Also available on the iHeartMedia app.