James Harden Calls 76ers’ President Morey Liar

At a news conference on Monday in China, James Harden expressed his displeasure with club president Daryl Morey.

According to reports, James Harden will not be traded until the 2023–24 season.

Only a few days after the Philadelphia 76ers reportedly denied James Harden’s request to be traded, the star guard had some choice words for team president Daryl Morey.

During a press conference for Adidas on Monday in China, Harden expressed his opinions towards Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey.

Someone in the crowd asked Harden, “What do you think about the current team claiming to end trade talks and trying to bring you back to the team?” He was more than open in his response.

Harden declared, “Daryl Morey is a liar, and I will never be a part of a group that he is a part of.” “Let me repeat that: Daryl Morey is a liar, and I will never join a group that he belongs to.”

In spite of Harden’s “emphatic” wish to be transferred, which was purportedly made known months ago, Adrian Wojnarowsk tweeted on Saturday that the 76ers were terminating trade discussions for him.

The 76ers had hoped that Harden would lead the team reach at least the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2001, along with current Kia MVP Joel Embiid. Instead, Philadelphia has fallen to Boston in the most recent Eastern Conference playoffs, losing 4-3 after being up 3-2 in the series.

While playing with Kevin Durant in Brooklyn and now Embiid in Philadelphia, Harden’s output has decreased after developing into a consistent MVP candidate and an MVP with the Houston Rockets.

Nevertheless, since leaving the Rockets, the three-time leading scorer and two-time leading assist provider has averaged at least 20 points and 10 assists each of the past three seasons, including a league-high 10.7 assists per game last year.

His 38.5% 3-point shooting percentage was his highest since the 2011–12 season, when he was a star for an up-and-coming Oklahoma City club that included three future MVPs in James Harden, Kevin Durant, and Russell Westbrook.

Although Harden has adamantly demanded a move this offseason, Wojnarowski continues, the 76ers “wouldn’t make a trade that they believed would compromise their title hopes.”

Those dreams might be kept alive in the jumbled Eastern Conference, where eighth-seeded Miami made it to the 2023 Finals, with a productive Harden and a healthy Embiid.

Harden opted into his $35.6 million contract for the upcoming season in the off-season. Harden, 33, had the opportunity to decline it and pursue free agency instead. He was entitled to a four-year, $210 million contract from the Sixers, which was $8 million more than any other team could have offered.

Nick Nurse, who was appointed as Philadelphia’s coach in late June, had advocated for Harden’s comeback. As did Tobias Harris, a teammate.

James must make a choice, and Nurse declared, “I’d be overjoyed if he came back.”

If Harden were to be traded, it would be his third trade since the Houston Rockets granted his request in February 2021.

With 10.7 assists per game, Harden led the NBA last season, but it was his wildly inconsistent offence that infuriated Sixers supporters and ultimately sealed their fate in the Eastern Conference second-round loss to Boston.

Ben Simmons was traded to Brooklyn for Harden at the 2022 trade deadline. Harden scored 45 points in Game 1 and 42 points in Game 4 wins over the Celtics.

In the defeats in Games 2 and 6, Harden, who will turn 34 in August, shot 0 for 6 from outside the arc. In Game 7, he scored just nine points, and the second half was scoreless.

Harden decided against exercising his $47.4 million player option with the 76ers for the 2018–19 campaign and instead chose to sign a two-year agreement worth $32 million in 2022–2023.

For the upcoming season, a player option was included. He made around $14.5 million less last season than he might have under his former contract since he chose to leave an old deal before the previous campaign to remain with the 76ers.

The seven-time All-NBA player is a part of the 75th anniversary squad for the league.