It was more than a year ago when Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey made his first splash trade as Sixers’ president of basketball operations, trading away disgruntled star Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, and two-first round picks for James Harden and Paul Millsap. The trade reunited him with Harden who spent nine seasons in Houston while Morey was the GM there.
The move not only reunited the two together but Harden was supposed to serve as the running mate to MVP Joel Embiid. This tandem worked in stretches, and the Sixers won a lot of regular season games, but the two stars couldn’t get Philly over the hump.
This offseason Harden opted into his contract for next season, so it looked like the two stars would get one more shot at bringing a title back to Philadelphia. The team has been looking for trade options for the 33-year-old scorer.
That plan should take place soon as Harden slammed President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey during an Adidas press event in China.
James Harden: “Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of. 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.” pic.twitter.com/AmHJ0WwbF2
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 14, 2023
Fan reactions to Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden slamming Daryl Morey
This news doesn’t look good on Harden as demanding out of your second team with title aspirations. What GM is going to want to trade for a player who doesn’t provide as much value as he did five years ago?
How are other GMs gonna trust this guy now lmao
— Russ' TD ⚡ (@RussFcb) August 14, 2023
https://twitter.com/ChiefOttoSosa/status/1691069181741977601?s=20
Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon are just chilling in Serbia. That is what good team chemistry looks like.
https://twitter.com/OwnedByCurfraud/status/1691041177787916288?s=20
Three trade demands in the last three seasons? James Harden needs to realize teams don’t want to pay top dollar for a player who has shown time and time again to not up his game when it matters most.
Celtics broke Philly pic.twitter.com/utaIE1MIHW
— CELTICS ☘️ BANNER 19 (@BiggLynch) August 14, 2023
Boston has been breaking Philly for decades. Philadelphia 76ers last won a playoff series against Boston in the 1982 Eastern Conference Finals Philly won in six games.
James Harden making it clear what he’s choosing pic.twitter.com/8l5b1xk7Xh
— Kory Waldron (@FullAccessHoops) August 14, 2023
Some things never change. The Philadelphia 76ers will be in the market for another MVP alongside Joel Embiid.
https://twitter.com/vanman_1000/status/1691040141001756672?s=20
Morey dealt with a similar situation in 2021 with Ben Simmons which took a long time to resolve, and the same distraction could arise with Harden. In the end, it’s about what is best for the Philadelphia 76ers so this doesn’t carry into training camp.
With James Harden wanting out Philadelphia 76ers could be an interesting team next season. With Embiid and Maxey, this team still wins 50 games. The question is do they have enough of a supporting cast to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals? That and more will be answered once the James Harden situation is resolved.
PS: The circus continues.
Source: Daryl Morey is unmoved by James’ comments. He is holding firm in his stance that he will not trade him unless it makes the Sixers a better team.
Meanwhile, I’m told James’ agent advised him against making that statement.
— Jason Dumas (@JDumasReports) August 14, 2023
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