As talented as James Harden is on a basketball court, he may be just as good at making himself unwelcome on a team. This, of course, is always by design – once Harden decides he’s done with a team, he makes it very clear. And he is done with the Philadelphia 76ers and his former ally, the team’s president of basketball operations, Daryl Morey.
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As the above video shows, Harden is quite upset with his former friend Morey, as he told an assembled crowd at an Adidas promotional event.
“Daryl Morey is a liar, and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of,” Harden says in the video. “Let me say that again: Daryl Morey is a liar, and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of.”
Ironically, Harden spoke these words in China, the nation that Morey got in trouble for criticizing over the Hong Kong protests.
So how did the Sixers get to this point with James Harden? After all, he did pick up his player option of $35.6 million for next season, in effect agreeing to play for Philadelphia for another season. It’s reported Harden is upset with the team for not offering him a long-term maximum-level contract extension. And now he seems unhappy that the team reportedly plans on having him report to their training camp this fall after trade talks (most recently with the Los Angeles Clippers) have fallen through.
This makes it three teams in three years that Harden has tried to force his way off of (successfully doing so in Houston and Brooklyn). Having worked alongside Harden in Houston, Morey knew what he was getting into when he made the move to bring Harden to Philadelphia. Now, the chickens have come home to roost.
