The drama between James Harden and Daryl Morey just continues to escalate.
Per The Athletic, Harden called Morey a “liar” in reference to a promise made to the star guard that he would trade him “quickly” following Harden’s $35.6 million opt-in for the 2023-24 season.
After Harden blasted Morey during a press event in China — calling the Sixers general manager a liar and vowing to never return to one of his teams — the NBA subsequently opened a probe to investigate the situation.
Harden, a 10-time All-Star, spent just one and a half years with the Sixers before demanding a trade this offseason, opting into his contract in an attempt to work out a deal that would send him out of Philadelphia.
“When James Harden opted in, the decision to work together on a trade, that stemmed from James Harden believing that there was no real intention from the Sixers in giving him a long-term offer as a free agent,” Shams Charania said in July. “And so everyone around the Sixers, they know that he’s been incredibly unnerved about how the team has handled his potential free agency.”
But now, the Sixers have pivoted to an approach in which they expect to keep Harden, Charania reported Monday.
Harden, the 2017-18 league MVP, has insisted to reporters that he believes there’s no path back to Philadelphia for him.
He told a Houston TV station that he thought it was “too late to repair his relationship” with the team, adding, “I’ve been patient all summer…For me, it’s just focus on what I can control and getting ready for this season.”
Harden, who has also forced his way out of Houston and Brooklyn via trade request, averaged a league-leading 10.7 assists alongside 2023 MVP Joel Embiid last season as the Sixers went 54-28 and were eliminated in the conference semifinals.
The 76ers admittedly had a very high asking price to trade Harden.
“If we don’t get either a very good player or something we can turn into a very good player, then we’re just not going to do [the trade],” Morey told The Fanatic in July. “If James were to turn his mind around, we would all be thrilled. You’ve heard [Joel Embiid’s] comments about that. But at this moment, he prefers to be traded, and we are attempting to honor that.”
