With just weeks until the start of NBA training camp, the standoff between the 76ers and James Harden remains in full swing.
The relationship between the star guard and his team has deteriorated over the offseason. He remains with Philadelphia after picking up a $35.6 million player option for the 2023–24 season, but did so with his sights on a trade — and the Clippers as his reported target destination. A deal has not materialized, and in August, Sam Amick of The Athletic reported that Harden does not intend to report to training camp next month.
Harden’s animosity became very public in mid-August when, during a trip to China, the guard called team president Daryl Morey a “liar,” and said that he “will never be part of an organization that he’s a part of,” repeating the line twice while speaking to fans.
A new report by ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne sheds some light on the fractured relationship between Harden and Morey, who previously had an incredibly strong working relationship as two cornerstones of the Rockets franchise from 2012 to ’20, when Morey resigned.
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Harden had previously turned down lucrative contract extension offers from the Rockets and Nets in ’21, and with his player option decision looming, he reportedly felt he had earned the four-year, $210 million contract for which he was eligible. However, according to Shelburne, interest from the Rockets dried up when the team hired Ime Udoka, greatly shrinking the market for the guard.
When he looked to Morey to try and land that big contract to stay with Philadelphia, the team president reportedly didn’t pick up the phone.
“James felt like Daryl was ghosting him,” a source close to Harden told Shelburne. “He felt betrayed.”
The breakdown in communication, which the 76ers reportedly attributed to the team being hit with a recent tampering fine by the NBA, led Harden to take the player option and make his trade demand. After talks with the Clippers and Knicks fell through, Philadelphia opted to stay the course heading into the ’23–24 season — for now.
Whether Harden joins the team for training camp next month remains to be seen, but this is not the first time that he has caused problems for a team entering a season as he attempts to force a trade.
