James Harden has been a constant in the news cycle ever since he requested to be traded from the 76ers. Most recently, he ripped his team’s president, calling Daryl Morey a “liar” and saying he will “never be part of an organization that he’s a part of.” Of course, his comments have ignited quite the debate online, as it would be the fourth trade of his career if it were to happen.
His former coach with the Rockets, Kevin McHale, shared some of his own experiences with Harden and says that the star shooting guard is accustomed to having plans for situations like this. He alleged that Harden concocted a plan to get McHale fired after the former coach infamously benched Harden in the fourth quarter of Game 6 against the Clippers during the 2015 Western Conference semifinals.
“The next year he came to camp, he was fat and didn’t feel like playing, and I got fired [11] games into the season,” McHale told Heavy Sports. “He had a plan.”
McHale was indeed fired during the 2015–16 season after a 4–7 start. Strangely enough, this wouldn’t be the first time a theory about Harden using his body weight to force a move has been floated. Ahead of the 2020–21 season, Harden showed up to Rockets training camp late and noticeably out of shape before demanding a trade, and fans speculated that Harden’s disinterest in conditioning was weaponized to force Houston’s hand to get rid of him. The Rockets traded him to the Nets at midseason that year.
Of course, no such theory was ever proven but, McHale holds on to the fact that Harden is extremely calculating in situations like this because he’s been in them before.
